Haaland's mid‑match exit fuels Manchester City’s nightmare week
Erling Haaland signalled his distress in the 67th minute of Norway’s Euro Nations League clash with Portugal on Sunday night, demanding to be substituted, AFP reported. The 26‑year‑old’s exit came as the Scandinavian side fell 2‑1, extending Manchester City’s nightmare week after the striker’s club troubles.
Norway entered the Portugal game after a 2‑1 defeat away to Wales, a result that sandwiched the double‑header and left them bottom of Group A4. It mirrored the same scoreline the Euro 2016 winners recorded in Oslo a week earlier in the Nations League.
Haaland had featured every minute of Norway’s three previous Nations League matches, but boss Stale Solbakken had warned that the plan was to pull him off around the hour mark to manage his workload. “We were hoping for 60 minutes after the conversation we had yesterday, and he managed 65 minutes,” Solbakken told TV 2.
Early exits and substitution chain
With the score level at 1‑1 midway through the second half, Haaland turned to the dugout, gesturing that he was hurt before signalling his need to leave. Crystal Palace striker Jorgen Stand Larsen replaced him, and twelve minutes later Goncalo Ramos netted Portugal’s winner. Alongside Haaland, Arsenal’s Martin Odegaard, Fulham’s Sander Berge and Brentford’s Kristoffer Ajer also departed early, prompting Solbakken to note, “It wasn’t just Haaland who left early, there’s a whole bunch of people leaving now.”
Norway teammate Leo Ostigard lamented the situation, saying, “It’s clear that you want him on the field as long as possible, but he plays an incredible number of games, and he’s a human being too.” Patrick Berg added, “He has played all three games before this one, so it’s not that shocking that his strength finally ran out.” During the international break Haaland also surpassed both Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to become Norway’s all‑time leading scorer.
Club repercussions and upcoming fixtures
Haaland, who has scored seven goals in as many games for Manchester City this season, now faces doubt ahead of Sunday’s clash with Liverpool after his injury scare. City will also be without Phil Foden, suspended for the match, and left‑back Nico O’Reilly, who was sent home from England camp with an injury, while Antoine Semenyo has departed Ghana’s camp, compounding Enzo Maresca’s selection headache.
The defeat adds to what the club’s insiders have dubbed ‘Man City’s week from hell’, coming just days after Manchester City were found guilty by the Premier League of all their financial breach charges. The cumulative pressure has left the squad and management searching for any respite.
Norway’s loss leaves them bottom of Group A4 in the Nations League, while Haaland’s fitness remains uncertain ahead of the Liverpool tie, meaning Manchester City will head into Merseyside without their prolific striker and several other key players.