Pep Guardiola explains early Erling Haaland substitution in Slovan Bratislava win
- Manchester City thumped Slovan Bratislava 4-0 on Tuesday
- Haaland scored one of City's four goals in dominant win
- Striker was subbed off on the hour mark for James McAtee
Pep Guardiola has revealed that his decision to take off Erling Haaland in the win over Slovan Bratislava was made in order to 'take care' of his star striker.
Haaland has been in outrageous form thus far this season, netting a ridiculous 11 goals in just eight appearances in all competitions.
After not scoring in City's Champions League opener against Inter, Haaland earned his first of the competition on Tuesday evening - netting the third goal in a comfortable 4-0 win over Slovan Bratislava.
The goal was Haaland's 42nd in just 41 Champions League appearances, however he was not given an opportunity to add a 43rd late in the game, with manager Guardiola opting to sub him off shortly after his 58th minute strike.
Speaking to the press about the decision to replace Haaland with James McAtee for the final 30 minutes of the game, Guardiola explained: "As a manager I am more secure and more happy when Erling is on the pitch.
“I will keep him on the pitch all the time but at 0-3 the game was almost over and with this amount of games we have to take care of him.
“He had a big knock last game against Newcastle United so that's why, after 0-3 the fantastic goal with the pass from Rico and after that it's better.”
The decision to bring on the young McAtee proved to be a shrewd one from Guardiola, as the 21-year-old netted his first ever Champions League goal in the 74th minute of the game - thumping home after being played through by Phil Foden.
Haaland is expected to start once again this weekend when City take on Fulham at the Etihad Stadium, with McAtee set to deputise from the bench.
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