Voltar
Erling Haaland was an unused substitute during Manchester City's 5-1 win vs AEK Athens(Image: Kate McShane - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Manchester City returned to winning ways in the Champions League on Tuesday night as they beat AEK Athens 5-1. All the talk before the game surrounded Erling Haaland's fitness after he took a knock at the end of Saturday's win over Ipswich Town. While he was fit enough for the bench, City did not miss him.
They were 2-0 up at the break thanks to Elliot Anderson's first goal for the club, followed by Phil Foden's neat finish into the roof of the net. AEK began the second half well and pulled one back through Stavros Pilios. But all this did was rally City.
Rayan Cherki made it three with a neat turn and finish before Foden added the gloss with a thunderbolt for his second of the night, and a tap in for his hat-trick. Such was the ease of the victory, minds have already drifted towards Saturday's Premier League trip to Aston Villa.
Ahead of that game, MEN Sport has taken a look at the injury worries at the Etihad.
Injury: Foot
Haaland did not feature in open training so it was something of a surprise to see him arrive with his teammates for the clash with AEK Athens. He was an unused substitute as his teammates did the business. After the game, Enzo Maresca confirmed his centre-forward will start against Villa on Saturday.
"He's okay to start on Saturday," Maresca said. "We had five or six players on the bench who ready to go in the side but, at the same time, they had a rest so we’re happy with that."
Make sure you never miss the latest Manchester City news and opinion by making Manchester Evening News one of your Google preferred sources.
Potential return date: October 24 vs Aston Villa
Injury: Back
Gvardiol looked to have injured himself in the second half as he clattered into a challenge that earned him a booking. He was later substituted but Maresca reassured fans in his TNT Sports interview, the defender is okay.
"No he's okay," Maresca explained. "He had a small problem during the warm up with his back but he is okay."
Potential return date: October 24 vs Aston Villa
Injury: Groin
Against Ipswich, Nunes appeared to hold his groin and was forced off. Maresca said the full-back was 'more or less okay'. However, he didn't feature in open training and was not in the squad to face AEK.
Potential return date: Unknown
Injury: Back
Like Gvardiol, O'Reilly appears to have an issue with his back that has been bothering him since the Coventry win. He was not in the squad to face AEK.
Potential return date: Unknown
Injury: Unknown
Kovacic was forced off on Saturday with an unknown injury. He took a seat on the bench for the remainder of the game, suggesting it was not a bad issue. But he was not in the open training squad, nor did he make the team to face AEK
Potential return date: Unknown
Injury: Leg
Semenyo is out for an extended period with the forward set to miss the next eight weeks. Maresca said on Monday: "In the first moment we expect an even worse injury so we were more worried but after the scan we are less worried. It could be eight weeks.
"Now the most important thing is to recover it. When he is back, around December, we have a new player. It's not muscular."
Potential return date: December