Erling Haaland was set for a Premier League return off the bench as he was named as a substitute for Manchester City's clash with Fulham on Saturday.
The prolific Norwegian missed last week's 1-0 win at Leicester City, as well as Wednesday's 3-1 Champions League victory over Sevilla, after suffering a foot injury.
With 17 goals in his first 11 Premier League appearances, and 22 goals across all competitions already, the former Borussia Dortmund striker has made a flying start to his time in England.
Manager Pep Guardiola was determined not to rush Haaland back, and said on Friday the 22-year-old would be assessed after a final training session before a decision was made on his involvement.
Guardiola said it was clear Haaland was "much better".
For the visit of Fulham, Guardiola judged it prudent to hand Haaland a limited role, starting instead with Julian Alvarez as his main striker, supported by the likes of Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish and Kevin De Bruyne.
City's bench was stacked with quality for the clash with the Cottagers, with Haaland joined by players including Ruben Dias, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez.
Fulham, meanwhile, were without their leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic, with the club citing "ankle pain" as the reason for his absence.
Hull held by well-drilled Plymouth
Streetwise Plymouth frustrated Hull to earn a 1-1 draw at the MKM Stadium.
Argyle have struggled away from home since their return to the Sky Bet Championship.
But they were decent value for a point which was largely gained because of the late heroics of goalkeeper Conor Hazard.
Hull also looked up against it when Adam Randell scored for the visitors after 22 minutes.
The Tigers were fortunate to have equalised after Regan Slater capitalised upon two errors from defender Macaulay Gillesphey just before half-time.
And though Plymouth had to withstand relative pressure, they arguably deserved a share of the spoils.
Hull, albeit attractive on the eye and competent in possession, were, offensively, short of ideas for most of the game.
Jaden Philogene skied one over the crossbar after 15 minutes, but that was a a rare highlight for home fans.
Plymouth, suitably inspired by their 6-2 defeat at home to Watford last weekend, might have been forgiven for going for the jugular at the MKM Stadium.
But they were patient from the outset and wisely chose their moments going forward in the first half.
Their opening goal came when Bali Mumba found a pocket of space on the left wing and his cross was parried to the right by goalkeeper Ryan Allsop, with the resulting deflection smartly steered home by Randell from a tricky angle.
Home supporters demanded a response, but it was not immediately forthcoming.
If anything, Hull should have been 2-0 down after 27 minutes when high-pressing Argyle hustled the hosts out of possession on the edge of the penalty area. Finn Azaz’s low strike was almost perfect, but the ball struck the base of the right post before squirting along the chalk of the line for a goal-kick.
Hull finally kicked on after 35 minutes when left-back Ruben Vinagre sent over a fine cross into Plymouth’s box. Adama Traore should have equalised, but his strong header went over the crossbar.
But Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher will have been quite content by the pattern of the game – until Gillesphey’s defensive meltdown.
The 27-year-old firstly conceded possession to Philogene on the left, from where the ball appeared destined to bounce into touch.
But Gillesphey was too complacent – and Philogene reacted. He seized control and then crossed, through the legs of Dan Scarr, towards the back post where Slater could not miss.
Hull dominated possession in the second half but other than Aaron Connolly’s sharp strike that fizzed just wide of the right post, Hazard was rarely troubled until late in the piece.
Randell might even have won the game after 71 minutes when his half-volley inside the box was pawed over the crossbar by Allsop.
Substitute Liam Delap set the tone for a late flurry of pressure after his powerful strike from the right was well tipped over by Hazard, who also did brilliantly to deny Tyler Morton and Alfie Jones at the death.
Yet Hull head coach Liam Rosenior must wonder why it took his side so long to get going, whereas Schumacher will view this as a fine result given Plymouth’s issues on the road.
Michael Cheek bags brace as 10-man Bromley halt unbeaten Gateshead streak
Gateshead’s seven-match unbeaten run in the National League came to an end after a 3-1 defeat at 10-man Bromley.
After a goalless first half, Michael Cheek put the home side in front in the 55th minute with a shot into the bottom corner.
Marcus Dinanga levelled for Gateshead, who were on a three-game winning streak, with 20 minutes to go but Byron Webster restored Bromley’s lead with a header from a corner four minutes later.
Lewis Leigh was sent off deep into stoppage time for a second yellow but the game was over moments later when Cheek grabbed his second on the counter attack.
Ebbsfleet see off Boreham Wood
Goals from Darren McQueen (2) and Luke O’Neill steered Ebbsfleet to a 3-1 home win over Boreham Wood in the Vanarama National League.
O’Neill broke the deadlock in the 20th minute after McQueen’s rebound had fallen for him, before McQueen doubled the lead 10 minutes later.
Angelo Balanta brought Boreham Wood back into the contest in the 36th minute, slotting into the corner.
However, the influential McQueen completed his double with 20 minutes to go, completing the scoring and ensuring three points for the hosts.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
