Pep Guardiola’s substitutions last night had merit but they did upset the balance of City’s team | OneFootball

Last night, in the 69th minute of Manchester City’s 3-all draw with Feyenoord in their Matchday 5 UEFA Champions League fixture, Pep Guardiola made three substitutions. He took off Ilkay Gundogan, Nathan Ake and Phil Foden. On came James McAtee, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Kevin De Bruyne. Six minutes later Feyenoord scored their first of three goals they’d score in 14 frantic minutes to leave the Etihad with a point. Pep Guardiola’s substitutions had merit, his substitutions did upset the balance of his team. That proved costly come the final whistle.

When Pep Guardiola’s substitutes entered the game, City had complete control of affairs. They were 3-nil up and cruising. Feyenoord had barely offered a threat in the second half. It appeared like it was the ideal time for several of the world champions key players to get some rest ahead of this Sunday’s trip to Anfield to face Liverpool. But what no one, not even Pep Guardiola, saw coming was Manchester City’s collapse.

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It was clear at the back that Josko Gvardiol’s misplaced back pass that led to Anis Hadj Moussa’s goal in the 75th minute had unsettled Manchester City. All of a sudden, at the back, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was at the centre of a City defence that had become stricken with panic instead of the calming presence of Nathan Ake. The youngster should’ve had his experienced teammates there to guide him through the game’s final stages. Instead, City’s players, especially in defence all collectively lost their heads.

Without Ilkay Gundogan’s calming presence in midfield and on the pitch, the Manchester City players on the pitch failed to regain control of the game after Feyenoord’s first goal. Instead, Manchester City pressed forward and left gaping holes at the back. A midfield consisting of Kevin De Bruyne, James McAtee, Bernardo Silva and Matheus Nunes was too attack-minded for the task at hand. That showed as Pep Guardiola’s side didn’t attempt to control the game’s final moments as Manchester City traditionally would. All told all three of Pep Guardiola’s substitutions had a detrimental impact on his team. But there was merit to Guardiola’s thinking as he explained post-game.

Pep Guardiola’s thought process behind his substitutions made sense even if the end result of them wasn’t what he and his team desired.

Speaking after the 3-all draw with Feyenoord Pep Guardiola explained why he made the substitutions he made. He told the media: “Substitutions? The game was NOT IN DANGER, I didn’t have the feeling that they were attacking… Nathan Ake has been injured many times, I didn’t want to expose him to 90 minutes. Ilkay Gundogan is the ONLY holding midfielder that we have, that’s why I made the substitution! Phil Foden has played a lot of minutes, and I did it for Kevin De Bruyne to get rhythm – same with James McAtee. Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is always so stable emotionally in these types of games!”

Pep Guardiola’s substitutions made sense at the time last night. What he wasn’t banking on was his team crumbling like a deck of cards in the face of Feyenoord’s late pressure. It was such an unexpected sight to see at the Etihad Stadium last night. But those three substitutions did upset the balance of the world champions. Even still it shouldn’t have affected City that much. That rests on Manchester City’s senior players and not Pep Guardiola and the three players he introduced last night.