“You need to ask Pep” – Erling Haaland makes feelings clear about Bournemouth substitution | OneFootball

Manchester City forward Erling Haaland was the matchwinner once again as the Blues rose to second place in the Premier League table with a 3-1 win over Bournemouth.

The Norwegian scored twice in the first-half to take his tally to 13 Premier League goals this season as Manchester City keep up the pressure on league leaders and title favourites Arsenal, who extended their lead at the top of the table to six points at the weekend.

City returned to winning ways at a crucial juncture of their season ahead of key UEFA Champions League and Premier League meetings with Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool this week, having seen their two month unbeaten run end last week against Aston Villa.

Pep Guardiola reverted to his strongest starting XI against Bournemouth on Sunday after a much-changed Manchester City side came from behind to claim a 3-1 win over Swansea City in the Carabao Cup fourth-round and set up a quarter-final tie with Brentford.

Haaland did not travel to Wales in midweek and was handed a well-earned rest by Guardiola, who has admitted to worries over Manchester City’s over-reliance on the 25-year-old to keep producing the goods in front of goal every week in the absence of goals from elsewhere.

However, it does not look like Haaland is getting fazed by the responsibility on his capable shoulders as he once again led by example by scoring twice against the Cherries in the first-half of Sunday’s win – wherein he could have easily grabbed a hat-trick.

The Leeds-born star is in the form of his life and a worryingly large portion of Manchester City’s chances at silverware this season hinge on Haaland and if Guardiola and his coaching staff can keep the former Borussia Dortmund man fit and firing on all cylinders as the season progresses.

Rayan Cherki made his first Premier League start since August on Sunday and the 22-year-old France international quickly assumed the role of architect-in-chief as he set up Haaland twice in the first-half to give a preview into what may be a vital partnership in attack for Manchester City in the seasons to come.

“We all know his qualities so it’s about trying to get the best out of everyone,” Haaland told Sky Sports on Cherki after the game. “Today he had two amazing assists to me, so hopefully many more!”

After Nico O’Reilly put the game to bed on the 60 minute mark, Haaland was evidently desperate to grab another goal and complete a hat-trick, having squandered a great chance in the closing stages of the first-half.

The Scandinavian hid his frustrations well as he was eventually taken off for Omar Marmoush, with Guardiola denying his star forward a chance to bag a treble and improve upon his sensational goalscoring numbers.

On being taken off, Haaland added: “You need to ask Pep (Guardiola) for this. I think there were probably a few Fantasy (Football) managers that weren’t so happy when I got subbed off.”

Guardiola is likely to have taken Haaland off to avoid the risk of injury as he needs his talisman fully fit for when the Norwegian’s former club Borussia Dortmund visit the Etihad Stadium on matchday four of the UEFA Champions League group-stage this week.