Erling Haaland reached a Premier League first on Saturday night, and then hobbled down the Etihad tunnel.
The Manchester City striker scored twice in a 3-2 win over Ipswich Town, becoming the fastest player in the competition’s history to 100 non-penalty goals. He reached the mark in his 139th league appearance.
Haaland hit the first in the 34th minute and the second in the 69th. The brace took him to 12 goals in his last eight appearances for the club.
Deep into stoppage time, chasing his hat-trick on a counter-attack, Haaland collided with Ipswich substitute Jack Clarke. Clarke got his studs up and made contact with the ball, with the Norwegian running into the challenge. He played out the final seconds and walked straight down the tunnel at the final whistle.
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Four or five scares in 10 minutes
In his post-match press conference, Enzo Maresca played down the scare on his striker.
“We will see. Erling said he was OK. I don’t have any news at the moment,” the Italian told reporters.
In the final 10 minutes alone, midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes also picked up knocks, and defender Nico O’Reilly is still carrying a back complaint.
“Unfortunately, in 10 minutes we had four or five players,” Maresca said.
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Antoine Semenyo was the bigger worry. The winger had been introduced in the 77th minute and came off with a knee concern.
“The only one we need to wait on is Antoine,” the manager said.
Haaland a doubt for AEK Athens
Haaland is a doubt as the medical staff assess his foot. Even without the knock, he had been in line for a rest: Maresca had already said he planned to give his striker a breather at some point in the busy run of fixtures.
City host AEK Athens in the Champions League at the Etihad on Tuesday, with kick-off at 8pm UK time.
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