Pep Guardiola said that Erling Haaland and Joao Cancelo were both suffering from a fever against Dortmund in the Champions League.
The pair both started at Signal Iduna Park but, after a first half in which both had been well below their best, neither appeared for the second half as Bernardo Silva and Manu Akanji came on in their place.
Haaland did emerge at full-time to salute the Dortmund fans having spent two sensational years with the club. However, the City boss confirmed after the match that he and Cancelo had both been under the weather in the build-up to the game.
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“Erling had a bit of fever before the game, Joao as well. I saw him tired, Joao as well,” he told BT Sport. “That's why we change it. In that period we struggle a lot.”
In his press conference, he added: “Three things: I saw him so tired. The second one he had a bit of a fever, like Joao. The third, he had a knock in his feet. That is why he wasn’t able to play in the second half.”
“I don’t know right now. They were a little bit concerned at half-time but I saw him walking OK at the end.”
City got the result they needed to confirm top spot and a more favourable draw - on paper, anyway - for the Champions League round of 16. The Blues withstood serious Dortmund pressure in the first half before stabilising after the break with the help of the two changes.
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