JAKARTA - Pep Guardiola rested Erling Haaland in the match against Newcastle United in the FA Cup on Sunday, March 8, 2026, to allow the striker to regain his speed before Manchester City's trip to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Haaland was absent from the squad in the 3-1 win at St James' Park. The Citizens decided it was better for the striker to stay in Manchester to train than to travel to Newcastle.
The reason is that he has to recover completely from the injury that made him miss the 1-0 win over Leeds United on March 1, 2026.
Haaland is scheduled to be part of the group that will depart for Real Madrid on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, local time, ahead of the first leg of the Champions League 16-final at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday, March 12, 2026, early morning WIB.
"I don't think about letting him play and I prefer him to train to build rhythm. After an injury, when he is down, he always has trouble having the real speed," said Guardiola.
Manchester City travel to Madrid with a record of 11 matches unbeaten since the 0-2 defeat against Bodo/Glimt in January 2026.
Guardiola's Champions League journey has been strengthened by the arrivals of Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi, who are now eligible after their January 2026 moves, as well as the return of a number of players from injury.
Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Nico Gonzalez, John Stones, and Nathan Ake all started against Newcastle United after missing time.
"We have experience in that regard when we won the treble - you have to perform at your maximum in the crucial moments of the season with the right players."
"It's a shame that the English League is not in our hands. It was a big defeat against Nottingham Foretst. However, don't think about it too much, get up, go to Madrid."
"Make good choices and hopefully we can play - win or lose - according to our identity. That's always my focus, when we play on the biggest stage against big teams, it's not about winning or losing, but about being ourselves as individuals and as a team," said Guardiola.
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