La Liga giants Barcelona are doing their best to convince their manager Xavi Hernandez to remain with the club past this summer. According to influential Catalan media outlet Mundo Deportivo, Barca’s latest attempt to make Xavi change his mind is a move for Manchester City’s star striker Erling Haaland.

Xavi announced his decision to step down as Barca manager back in January following a series of poor results. But since then, the club embarked on an 11-game unbeaten run that included advancing to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona’s brass has been impressed with the turnaround and now wants to continue building under club legend.

Reportedly, the move for Haaland would be part of an extensive recruitment plan for the future. Barca would attempt to sign the player in the summer of 2025 and believe the 23-year-old Norwegian is interested in coming to Camp Nou. Haaland was linked with Barca in 2021, but decided to stay with Borussia Dortmund for another season before joining City.

It remains to be seen whether the promise of Haaland will be enough to keep Xavi in his post. Poor results were just part of the reason why he wanted to step down, with the outside pressure and frequent criticism that comes with the position also playing a role.

Haaland is enjoying another prolific campaign with City, scoring 29 goals in all competitions in 2023-24. He is under contract with the club through 2027 but reportedly has an undisclosed exit clause.

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will not feature in his team’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday due to his ongoing foot injury, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed. The Man City boss added that Haaland will likely be sidelined for the remainder of the month.

“Hopefully at the end of this month he’ll be ready,” Guardiola stated. “It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. It’s the bone. It needs time. With every injury, you can do whatever you want but it’s a question of time.”

While Haaland has returned to team training, Guardiola is unwilling to risk further aggravation of the Norwegian striker’s injury by playing him too soon. Still, City received positive news in the form of the return of star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne. Having been ruled out due to a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, DeBruyne returned to action during City’s 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup. The Belgian is expected to feature during Saturday’s clash with Newcastle.

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is still not ready to rejoin the Manchester City squad in training due to his foot injury, coach Pep Guardiola confirmed. The Norwegian has missed City’s last six games in all competitions as a result.

“[Haaland] is training alone but he is not training with the team,” Guardiola commentated after Man City’s 3-1 win over Everton in the Premier League on Wednesday night. “Kevin [De Bruyne] is training with the team, but Erling is not yet. It is a question of when the pain will disappear.”

While the exact timeline for Haaland’s return is not yet clear, Guardiola is hopeful that his star striker will be able to return in January. The City manager also shed light on the injury status of midfielder Kevin de Bryne, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the opening game of the season. According to Guardiola, De Bryne is close to returning to the field and could potentially play in City’s FA Cup third-round match against Huddersfield Town on January 6.

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is expected to be fit in time for Saturday’s game against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium. The Norwegian injured his ankle while on international duty and has already returned to training with the rest of the City’s first-team squad.

Haaland collapsed due to suffering his ankle injury during Norway’s 2-0 friendly victory over the Faroe Islands last Thursday. After the game, Norway’s team doctor stated that Haaland was suffering “so much pain” due to the injury, which resembled his setback against Bournemouth earlier in the season.

Upon returning to his club at the start of the week, Haaland received continued treatment for his ankle injury before returning to training on Thursday. The 23-year-old player is a key component of City’s attacking lineup, leading the Premier League top scorers’ charts with 13 goals.

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland suffered a foot injury while playing for Norway in their 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in a friendly match on Thursday. Further bad news for Norway came on Saturday night as other results in their Euro 2024 qualification group meant that they would no longer have a chance of qualifying for the tournament next year.

“The injury is not serious, but he has so much pain and somewhat limited function that the Scotland game unfortunately comes a little too early,” team doctor Ola Sand. Following his injury, Haaland was able to finish the match.

While there was a slight possibility for Norway to qualify for next year’s tournament, such hopes were dashed after Israel lost out on an automatic qualifying spot after losing 2-1 to Romania on Saturday night. Because of winning their Nations League group, Israel will play in the playoffs instead of Norway for a spot at Euro 2024.

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Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe have emerged as the frontrunners for FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player award. The list of 12 nominees also includes Declan Rice, who helped West Ham United to the UEFA Europa Conference League title, and Man City’s Julián Álvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gündogan, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva.

Should Messi emerge victorious, he would win the title for a record third time, adding to his victories in 2019 and 2022. Most notably, the Inter Miami star led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year. Still, he faces stiff competition from the likes of Haaland, who scored 52 goals this year and helped Man City to the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup treble.

Voting for the award opened on Thursday and will close in mid-October. The list of voters includes national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans.

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Manchester City are in full control of the Premier League title race. City beat Fulham 2-1 on Sunday to leap over Arsenal and make themselves comfortable on the top of the standings.

City got an early lead thanks to a penalty converted by Erling Haaland in the 3rd minute. This was the 50th goal for the Norwegian striker in all competitions and his 34th in the Premier League. Haaland is now tied with Newcastle United icon Alan Shearer and legendary Manchester United forward Andy Cole for most in a single season.

Haaland actually already owns the record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League season. Both Shearer and Cole set their records in 42-game seasons. 

While Haaland’s early goal got fans thinking it might be another case of Manchester City destroying their opponents, Fulham’s Carlos Vinicius made it 1-1 just 12 minutes later. Talented Argentine forward Julian Alvarez got the Manchester team back in the lead in the 36th minute with a spectacular finish from outside the box.

Man City had quite a lot of chances to extend the lead but couldn’t capitalize on them. Fulham, on the other hand, played well enough to give the reigning Premier League champs some trouble but couldn’t mount another comeback.

With the win, City now has 76 points and a game in hand over Arsenal, who fell to No. 2 with 75 points. Fulham, on the other hand, remained at No. 10.

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Manchester City kept their hopes of a third consecutive Premier League title alive as they trounced Liverpool 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. This is despite the absence of star striker Erling Haaland, who is still recovering from a groin injury he incurred while playing against Burnley on March 18. He left his international duty with Norway early as a result.

The heavily-favored hosts were surprised during the early stages of the first half when Mohamed Salah scored in the 17th minute to hand Liverpool an early lead. Just ten minutes later, City was back in it, as Haaland replacement Julian Alvarez leveled the scoring.

Less than a minute after half-time, Kevin de Bryne handed Man City the lead, scoring a tap-in after receiving a cross-field pass from Riyad Mahrez. Just seven minutes later, Ilkay Gundogan scored to hand City a two-goal cushion.

16 minutes from time, Jack Grealish paired up with De Bryne to score Man City’s fourth goal, thereby sealing the win. Man City is now five points behind league leaders Arsenal with ten games still to play.

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Norwegian striker Erling Haaland continues to make history with his prolific scoring this season. Haaland scored five goals in Manchester City’s 7-0 UEFA Champions League win over RB Leipzig, making him only the third player to do that in a single UCL game.

Only Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano previously managed to score five goals in a single Champions League match in the history of the competition. Only Messi did it in the knockout stage.

“It’s a big night. Firstly, I’m proud to play in this competition, I love it. Five goals. To win 7-0 is amazing,” said Haaland after the game that saw Manchester City advance to the UCL quarter-finals for the sixth straight season.

Even Haaland’s first goal of the game, which came from a penalty in the 22nd minute, marked a history feat. It was his 30th goal in UCL, making him the youngest to reach the mark at 22 years and 236 days. Also, he needed only 25 games to do so, fewest than any other player.

By adding four more to his tally later in the game, Haaland rose to the top of the UEFA Champions League scoring charts for the 2022-23 season. He now has 10 goals this season, two more than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the second position. Haaland now has 39 goals in all competitions this season, having played 36 games in total.

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Manchester City forward Erling Haaland is a doubt for the team’s upcoming Premier League game against Arsenal on Wednesday, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed. This comes after Haaland picked up a knock to his leg during the 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

“Erling has a kick and we will see in the next days how he will do,” Guardiola stated in a news conference. “At halftime, I spoke with the doctors and they said maybe don’t take risks at 3-0 up and I agree with the doctors. Maybe if it was more tight then I don’t do it. I think it is not injured but tomorrow [Monday] we will see. Maybe [he can play] Wednesday but if there is some risks he is not going to play.”

Aside from Haaland’s injury, concern was also expressed over the disagreement that arose between Haaland, Rodri, and Riyad Mahrez over who should take the penalty that was awarded late in the first half. While Haaland is the designated penalty kick taker, Rodri became involved and handed the ball to Mahrez, who scored to put City three goals up.

Guardiola explained that Haaland is normally the first-choice kick taker while Mahrez is second on the list and that he would be sure to speak with his players to understand what happened and clear the air.

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La Liga giants Barcelona are doing their best to convince their manager Xavi Hernandez to remain with the club past this summer. According to influential Catalan media outlet Mundo Deportivo, Barca’s latest attempt to make Xavi change his mind is a move for Manchester City’s star striker Erling Haaland.

Xavi announced his decision to step down as Barca manager back in January following a series of poor results. But since then, the club embarked on an 11-game unbeaten run that included advancing to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Barcelona’s brass has been impressed with the turnaround and now wants to continue building under club legend.

Reportedly, the move for Haaland would be part of an extensive recruitment plan for the future. Barca would attempt to sign the player in the summer of 2025 and believe the 23-year-old Norwegian is interested in coming to Camp Nou. Haaland was linked with Barca in 2021, but decided to stay with Borussia Dortmund for another season before joining City.

It remains to be seen whether the promise of Haaland will be enough to keep Xavi in his post. Poor results were just part of the reason why he wanted to step down, with the outside pressure and frequent criticism that comes with the position also playing a role.

Haaland is enjoying another prolific campaign with City, scoring 29 goals in all competitions in 2023-24. He is under contract with the club through 2027 but reportedly has an undisclosed exit clause.

The post Barcelona Plotting Erling Haaland Move in Hopes to Convince Manager Xavi to Stay appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland will not feature in his team’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday due to his ongoing foot injury, manager Pep Guardiola confirmed. The Man City boss added that Haaland will likely be sidelined for the remainder of the month.

“Hopefully at the end of this month he’ll be ready,” Guardiola stated. “It was a little bit more than we expected in the beginning. It’s the bone. It needs time. With every injury, you can do whatever you want but it’s a question of time.”

While Haaland has returned to team training, Guardiola is unwilling to risk further aggravation of the Norwegian striker’s injury by playing him too soon. Still, City received positive news in the form of the return of star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne. Having been ruled out due to a hamstring injury on the opening day of the season, DeBruyne returned to action during City’s 5-0 win over Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup. The Belgian is expected to feature during Saturday’s clash with Newcastle.

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is still not ready to rejoin the Manchester City squad in training due to his foot injury, coach Pep Guardiola confirmed. The Norwegian has missed City’s last six games in all competitions as a result.

“[Haaland] is training alone but he is not training with the team,” Guardiola commentated after Man City’s 3-1 win over Everton in the Premier League on Wednesday night. “Kevin [De Bruyne] is training with the team, but Erling is not yet. It is a question of when the pain will disappear.”

While the exact timeline for Haaland’s return is not yet clear, Guardiola is hopeful that his star striker will be able to return in January. The City manager also shed light on the injury status of midfielder Kevin de Bryne, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since the opening game of the season. According to Guardiola, De Bryne is close to returning to the field and could potentially play in City’s FA Cup third-round match against Huddersfield Town on January 6.

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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is expected to be fit in time for Saturday’s game against Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium. The Norwegian injured his ankle while on international duty and has already returned to training with the rest of the City’s first-team squad.

Haaland collapsed due to suffering his ankle injury during Norway’s 2-0 friendly victory over the Faroe Islands last Thursday. After the game, Norway’s team doctor stated that Haaland was suffering “so much pain” due to the injury, which resembled his setback against Bournemouth earlier in the season.

Upon returning to his club at the start of the week, Haaland received continued treatment for his ankle injury before returning to training on Thursday. The 23-year-old player is a key component of City’s attacking lineup, leading the Premier League top scorers’ charts with 13 goals.

The post Manchester City’s Haaland Expected to Be Fit for Liverpool Game appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland suffered a foot injury while playing for Norway in their 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in a friendly match on Thursday. Further bad news for Norway came on Saturday night as other results in their Euro 2024 qualification group meant that they would no longer have a chance of qualifying for the tournament next year.

“The injury is not serious, but he has so much pain and somewhat limited function that the Scotland game unfortunately comes a little too early,” team doctor Ola Sand. Following his injury, Haaland was able to finish the match.

While there was a slight possibility for Norway to qualify for next year’s tournament, such hopes were dashed after Israel lost out on an automatic qualifying spot after losing 2-1 to Romania on Saturday night. Because of winning their Nations League group, Israel will play in the playoffs instead of Norway for a spot at Euro 2024.

The post Haaland Injured as Norway Fail to Qualify for Euro 2024 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe have emerged as the frontrunners for FIFA’s The Best Men’s Player award. The list of 12 nominees also includes Declan Rice, who helped West Ham United to the UEFA Europa Conference League title, and Man City’s Julián Álvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gündogan, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva.

Should Messi emerge victorious, he would win the title for a record third time, adding to his victories in 2019 and 2022. Most notably, the Inter Miami star led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year. Still, he faces stiff competition from the likes of Haaland, who scored 52 goals this year and helped Man City to the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup treble.

Voting for the award opened on Thursday and will close in mid-October. The list of voters includes national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans.

The post Messi, Haaland, Mbappe Lead FIFA’s Best Men’s Player List appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Manchester City are in full control of the Premier League title race. City beat Fulham 2-1 on Sunday to leap over Arsenal and make themselves comfortable on the top of the standings.

City got an early lead thanks to a penalty converted by Erling Haaland in the 3rd minute. This was the 50th goal for the Norwegian striker in all competitions and his 34th in the Premier League. Haaland is now tied with Newcastle United icon Alan Shearer and legendary Manchester United forward Andy Cole for most in a single season.

Haaland actually already owns the record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League season. Both Shearer and Cole set their records in 42-game seasons. 

While Haaland’s early goal got fans thinking it might be another case of Manchester City destroying their opponents, Fulham’s Carlos Vinicius made it 1-1 just 12 minutes later. Talented Argentine forward Julian Alvarez got the Manchester team back in the lead in the 36th minute with a spectacular finish from outside the box.

Man City had quite a lot of chances to extend the lead but couldn’t capitalize on them. Fulham, on the other hand, played well enough to give the reigning Premier League champs some trouble but couldn’t mount another comeback.

With the win, City now has 76 points and a game in hand over Arsenal, who fell to No. 2 with 75 points. Fulham, on the other hand, remained at No. 10.

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Manchester City kept their hopes of a third consecutive Premier League title alive as they trounced Liverpool 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. This is despite the absence of star striker Erling Haaland, who is still recovering from a groin injury he incurred while playing against Burnley on March 18. He left his international duty with Norway early as a result.

The heavily-favored hosts were surprised during the early stages of the first half when Mohamed Salah scored in the 17th minute to hand Liverpool an early lead. Just ten minutes later, City was back in it, as Haaland replacement Julian Alvarez leveled the scoring.

Less than a minute after half-time, Kevin de Bryne handed Man City the lead, scoring a tap-in after receiving a cross-field pass from Riyad Mahrez. Just seven minutes later, Ilkay Gundogan scored to hand City a two-goal cushion.

16 minutes from time, Jack Grealish paired up with De Bryne to score Man City’s fourth goal, thereby sealing the win. Man City is now five points behind league leaders Arsenal with ten games still to play.

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Norwegian striker Erling Haaland continues to make history with his prolific scoring this season. Haaland scored five goals in Manchester City’s 7-0 UEFA Champions League win over RB Leipzig, making him only the third player to do that in a single UCL game.

Only Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano previously managed to score five goals in a single Champions League match in the history of the competition. Only Messi did it in the knockout stage.

“It’s a big night. Firstly, I’m proud to play in this competition, I love it. Five goals. To win 7-0 is amazing,” said Haaland after the game that saw Manchester City advance to the UCL quarter-finals for the sixth straight season.

Even Haaland’s first goal of the game, which came from a penalty in the 22nd minute, marked a history feat. It was his 30th goal in UCL, making him the youngest to reach the mark at 22 years and 236 days. Also, he needed only 25 games to do so, fewest than any other player.

By adding four more to his tally later in the game, Haaland rose to the top of the UEFA Champions League scoring charts for the 2022-23 season. He now has 10 goals this season, two more than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in the second position. Haaland now has 39 goals in all competitions this season, having played 36 games in total.

The post Erling Haaland Makes UCL History with 5 Goals in City’s 7-0 Win over RB Leipzig appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland is a doubt for the team’s upcoming Premier League game against Arsenal on Wednesday, manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed. This comes after Haaland picked up a knock to his leg during the 3-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.

“Erling has a kick and we will see in the next days how he will do,” Guardiola stated in a news conference. “At halftime, I spoke with the doctors and they said maybe don’t take risks at 3-0 up and I agree with the doctors. Maybe if it was more tight then I don’t do it. I think it is not injured but tomorrow [Monday] we will see. Maybe [he can play] Wednesday but if there is some risks he is not going to play.”

Aside from Haaland’s injury, concern was also expressed over the disagreement that arose between Haaland, Rodri, and Riyad Mahrez over who should take the penalty that was awarded late in the first half. While Haaland is the designated penalty kick taker, Rodri became involved and handed the ball to Mahrez, who scored to put City three goals up.

Guardiola explained that Haaland is normally the first-choice kick taker while Mahrez is second on the list and that he would be sure to speak with his players to understand what happened and clear the air.

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