Arsenal title boost as Pep Guardiola shares Manchester City fitness concerns after Real Madrid defeat

Erling Haaland's substitution during Manchester City's Champions League clash with Real Madrid has been clarified, amid concerns over the fitness of three key players.

Haaland was unexpectedly replaced after 90 minutes in the European quarter-final, with Julian Alvarez stepping in for the final 30 minutes and subsequent penalty shootout.

Kevin De Bruyne and Manu Akanji were also substituted in the second period of extra time, making way for Mateo Kovacic and John Stones. City went on to lose the tie after Madrid prevailed 4-3 on penalties, ending the Premier League leader's interest in the competition on the same night that Arsenal were eliminated by Bayern Munich.

Haaland seemed to be limping as he left the pitch, and post-match, Pep Guardiola revealed that all three players had requested to be taken off. With less than three days until their FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, City will be hoping the trio can recover in time.

"Erling and Kevin asked me to go out. They could not continue, like Manu," said the manager. "They were playing amazing and I'm not a big fan of so many substitutions but Kevin, Erling and Manu asked me to go out because they could not continue."

"Now we rest, tomorrow we come back and on Friday we travel to London to play the game. We will see. Of course we will see how people will react and of course the recovery is easier when winning than losing but it is the semi-final of the FA Cup and we will try to compete as much as possible."

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City and Arsenal continue to compete for the Premier League title along with Liverpool. The Gunners can re-take top spot on Saturday should they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.