by Manchester City’s boss Pep Guardiola appeared fears of fear of injuries to the top scorer Erling Haaland before the champions League next week to Real Madrid.
Haaland went down by tightening the leg in the last stages of the 4-0 battery of the Premier League of the Newcastle Champions at the Etihad stadium on Saturday and was immediately replaced.
Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow in the hope of City to overthrow a 3-2 deficit on the second floor of their dam match in Bernabeu on Wednesday, but Guardiola was not too worried.
The director of the city said: “When he was out, everyone was afraid, but I think he got up and that he was still smiling.
“I did not tell him and I did not speak with the doctors, but the doctors did not come with bad news, so I hope everything will be fine.”
Until Haaland applied the departure two minutes away, City enjoyed one of their best afternoons of the season when they ruthlessly put one of their four best rivals at the sword.
It was not the prolific Haaland, who was held as a captain for Kevin rest de Bruyne, who did the damage for City this time.
The day belonged to the new signature Omar Marmoush, which marked a sparkling hat-trick in the space of 14 minutes in the first half to effectively place the game beyond the Magpies.
They were his first goals for the club during his fifth appearance since his move of 59 million pounds Sterling by Eintracht Francfurt last month.
Guardiola said: “The culmination was the three goals. We knew it.
“In Germany, with Frankfurt, he made good figures and against (Leyton) Orient, he had three clear chances but could not mark.
“We knew sooner or later that if its dynamic with the group was good and that the performance was good, it would show what it is.
“I hope he can manage the greatest compliments that arrive because it’s constantly.”
City’s victory went back to the first four, three points above Newcastle, who slipped into the seventh after a dull screen.
Manager Eddie Howe was strong in his assessment of visitors’ performance.
“It was painful to watch since the touch,” he said. “We were a court where we had to be.
“We seemed to be responsive and allowed their good technical players too much space.
“Now they have exceptional players. They are always for me, with the ball, the best team of the Premier League.
“But we were not competitive enough, we were not in front of it. We are disappointed, very disappointed, of our general performance.
“I expected that we are really competitive but, in terms of trying to provide a really competitive and energetic performance, it was not there.”
