Manchester City recently played their third friendly of the summer. They tied 2-2 with Barcelona after falling behind after 90 minutes, but lost 1-4 in the penalty shootout. Man City had gone four matches without a win, including their loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

 

In addition to the loss to Manchester United, the English champions fell 3-4 to Celtic and 2-3 to AC Milan in previous friendlies. This is obviously a concerning omen for Pep Guardiola’s team heading into the new season.

  
Haaland was replaced after the first half of the game against Barcelona owing to muscle difficulties.

 

Another issue that concerns Pep is Haaland’s recent injury. The Norwegian striker started all three friendly matches against Celtic, AC Milan, and Barcelona. Haaland scored in the previous two games, but he was rejected a goal against Barcelona despite crossing the goal line with a close-range strike. More worryingly, Haaland was replaced in the first half due to muscle soreness. Pep Guardiola revealed this after the match:

 

“He’s got a muscle problem. Haaland is uncomfortable and having difficulty moving. That is why I need to take him off. I do not want to take chances. Haaland will have to go through a detailed investigation step by step. I don’t want to lose him within the next three weeks. That would be a major concern for the entire team. Currently, 60-70% of our team is still on vacation. “Everything is difficult.

 
Following the encounter against Barcelona, Man City will play another friendly against Chelsea on August 4 before entering the English Super Cup versus rival MU on August 10.