The Norwegian striker was on target in last weekend’s 3-0 Premier League win against Brentford, a strike which took his overall tally for the season with club and country to 50.
But with three huge games awaiting City over the next eight days starting with Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, Haaland sat out the midweek league win at home to Crystal Palace.
And asked at his pre-match press conference whether the 25-year-old was refreshed and in good shape for the Wembley showpiece, the boss made a point of highlighting the gruelling fixture schedule and its impact on Haaland and his colleagues.
“It’s the end of the season; the fatigue is always there. Mentally, physically. Erling has played a lot of minutes,” Pep pointed out.
“And you have three days [game] and now three days [game] and after winning or losing the main target after the game is ‘guys take a shower quick, come back to Manchester and go to sleep because on Monday you have to fly to Bournemouth.’
“That is the calendar. Imagine. Imagine. It’s hypothetical but tomorrow if we win the game, we can not even celebrate it.
“We have to go home immediately to prepare for the final we have in Bournemouth [on Tuesday].
“So, this is today what happens in modern football. Unfortunately, honestly, but it is what it is.”
Play the video to watch Pep’s press conference in full…
