Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola named an unusual bench for the tie against Burnley which they drew 1-1.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola named just six players on their bench for the Burnley tie which was one short of the standard seven-man bench that all teams use.
With John Stones and David Silva joining Fabian Delph, Benjamin Mendy, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Leroy Sane on the sidelines injured, City were short on players.
Guardiola said in the pre-match interview that he named only six players because he didn’t have anymore players to use.
“We didn’t have any more players,” Guardiola said.
“They are injured. I would like to have 18 players, but we had 17. I could have called one of the second team, but we decided they were not going to play.”
And Sky Sports pundit and former Man United star Gary Neville criticized Pep’s choice to name just six players on the bench.
“I think it’s a joke, I absolutely think it’s a joke,” Neville said.
“If you’re a youth team manager at Manchester City, ring him up and ask which kid deserves that boost. Who has been playing well this season and who has worked hard?
“If you’re the Academy or reserve team manager at Manchester City you must think ‘I’m wasting my time’. Forget the fact they’ve spent however much money, six players on the bench… to me, it’s like a protest.”
Indeed, there have been suggestions that Pep purposefully named just six players on the bench to send a message to his superiors that he doesn’t have enough players after missing out on Leicester star Riyad Mahrez.
Manchester City took the lead in the first-half with a stunning striker from Danilo but Burnley equalised with Gudmundsson scoring in the second-half to make it 1-1.
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