Maresca faces anxious wait over Haaland injury scare

MANCHESTER: Enzo Maresca is sweating on Erling Haaland's fitness after the Manchester City striker limped off following his double in Saturday's 3-2 win against Ipswich.

Haaland netted twice after Daizen Maeda had cancelled out Phil Foden's opener for City at the Etihad Stadium.

The Norway star's latest man-of-the-match display took his goal tally for the season to 12 in all competitions.

But there was a concerning sight for City boss Maresca at the final whistle.

Haaland had taken a blow to the foot late in the game and appeared to be struggling when he left the pitch.

Maresca is hopeful the issue is minor but will await the result of checks on his talismanic forward.

"We will see. I asked him and he said he was OK, so hopefully it is nothing serious," he said.

Maresca became the first manager in Premier League history to win his first seven matches as table-topping City maintained their 100 percent start to the campaign.

But the Italian revealed a number of other players had also suffered knocks.

"Unfortunately in 10 minutes we had four of five players, Matheus (Nunes), Kova (Mateo Kovacic), Erling, Antoine (Semenyo) and Nico (O'Reilly) also, but they are inside now and we will see," he said.

City continue to show their defiance in the face of the club's ongoing crisis following their guilty verdict for breaching Premier League financial rules.

City are appealing against the decision but could face a huge points deduction or even expulsion from the Premier League if they lose the appeal.

Haaland's future will be plunged into doubt if City are no longer in the top flight, and Maresca acknowledged his importance.

"It's fantastic for him. He's not just scoring goals, he's one of the leaders, he's one of the captains. He's doing very well," he said.

Zian Flemming's late penalty for Ipswich set up an anxious finish for Maresca, but City held on to bounce back from their midweek Champions League defeat against Paris Saint-Germain.

"We give credit to the players. They are not worried about people who judge from outside," Maresca said of the flood of criticism for City since the guilty verdict.

"Inside I promise the players are happy, they're getting credit and I give credit to them.

"It's a matter of winning games in this business and we were able to win seven in a row.

"What has made me very happy is the day-by-day with the players, the way they are working and how I can see them improving. The game today we completely controlled."

Maresca also hailed City's fans, who showed their loyalty by booing the Premier League anthem and waving inflatable bananas in a reference to the late 1980s, when the team retained their backing despite struggling on the pitch.

"The environment was very good. The club, the fans, the players are all together on this journey and this is the best feeling for everyone," he said.--AFP