'Preserved for Sunday!' — Man City fans react to Erling Haaland being benched vs Copenhagen

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has elected to start with superstar striker Erling Haaland on the bench for tonight's Champions League game in Denmark.

City face Copenhagen knowing a win will seal their spot in the last 16 of Europe's blue riband competition with two group matches to spare. Haaland has been in staggering form since his arrival at the Etihad in the summer, with 20 goals in just 13 appearances. But tonight he starts on the bench as Guardiola shuffles his pack.

The decision was perhaps made with the weekend in mind; City travel to Anfield to face Liverpool knowing a victory on Merseyside will open up a scarcely-believable 16-point buffer between the two sides with barely a quarter of the campaign gone.

Here is what City fans have been saying on social media about the decision to bench Haaland.

Read more: Follow our live blog as City take on Copenhagen

READ NEXT: