Haaland scored his third goal for Man City in the 39th minute, this is also his first goal from a live ball situation in the Premier League in 2026.
But after a rough foul by defender Joachim Andersen on Fulham's side, the Norwegian player did not return to play after halftime and was replaced by Omar Marmoush.
Guardiola believes the problem is only due to "small injuries" and said that Haaland's departure was decided by this player himself.
Haaland had some problems, he felt uncomfortable, of course the score at that time was 3-0 already. I haven't talked to the doctor, I don't know exactly what he's doing. Maybe it's just fatigue or something. Haaland just said:'I'm not comfortable' and with the score of 3-0, with many matches, and Omar Marmoush in the squad, substitutions are normal," Guardiola said after the match.
When asked about specific issues, Guardiola hinted that Haaland is having difficulty adapting to the dense match schedule after starting the season at the FIFA Club World Cup in June 2025.
The Man City coach mentioned Marc Cucurella when talking about Haaland after the Chelsea defender - a member of the Club World Cup champion team - was injured in Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Leeds United.
What is the reason? Because there are too many matches. Cucurella has just been injured. You know the reason already," Man City coach emphasized.
The 3-0 victory over Fulham helps Man City narrow the gap with the leading team Arsenal to 3 points and play 1 more match. This will put great pressure on Arsenal, who will have a late match with Brentford away at 3:00 AM on February 13.
