Manchester City Striker Erling Haaland was withdrawn before the second half of the win over Fulham due to a “niggle”, Pep Guardiola revealed after him. 3-0 victory.

City’s talisman was replaced by Guardiola after the interval, the Norwegian making it 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium with a superb finish from the edge of the area after Antoine Semenyo and Nico O’Reilly had put the hosts in command.

Guardiola’s men are now behind Premier League leaders Arsenal lead the title race by just three points ahead of the Gunners’ game with Brentford on Thursday.

City’s next Premier League game is in 10 days, when they host Newcastle United. They face Salford City in the fourth round of the FA Cup this weekend, but Haaland is unlikely to be in the squad for that game after Guardiola confirmed that he has been replaced by Omar Marmoush to prevent further injury.

“He (Haaland) was a niggle,” Guardiola told TNT Sports. “Never doubt the top scorer. The season is long.”

Elaborating in his post-match press conference, Guardiola said: “I haven’t spoken to the doctors. I don’t know exactly what he has. It’s just a disturbance, fatigue or something – I don’t know.

“He said, ‘I don’t feel comfortable’, at 3-0, he’s played a lot of games, with Omar (Marmusch), so out! Common sense, right?”

Haaland scored the decisive penalty in last Sunday’s dramatic 2-1 win at Liverpool in which the two teams played 103 minutes, and Guardiola was impressed with the way City avoided a slump following his efforts at Anfield.

“It wasn’t easy after the incredible emotions when you play an emotional game like Liverpool,” Guardiola told TNT.

“It was a really, really good performance. Very happy with the boys.

“Certain moments the team is growing, people are coming back. That’s really, really important.”

Guardiola, however, responded dismissively to talk of him gaining ground on Arsenal.

“It’s not three points (gap at the top),” he stressed. “After tomorrow’s game, we will see how many points there are.”

Manchester City’s new signings are making a huge impact

Semenyo got the ball rolling for City against Fulham by poking home from point-blank range in the 24th minute.

It marked his sixth goal against the Cottagers in his Premier League career, with Fulham looking unlikely to avoid a 20th successive defeat against City.

He then lined up to assist Ghana international O’Reilly since joining from Bournemouth in January.

Semenyo has six goals and two assists in seven games for City. At the other end, City have now kept two clean sheets in four games featuring their other January signing, Marc Gueye, following his move from Crystal Palace.

“A lot of goals. He has an understanding of the second ball in the box, but not just pace and intensity – he’s a top, top player,” Guardiola added of Semenyo.

“With him and Mark Guhi the club make incredible signings.”