Guardiola admits he made changes in Foxes win with one eye on Bayern

‘We have to think about injuries’: Pep Guardiola admits he made early changes in Manchester City’s 3-1 win over Leicester with one eye on their upcoming Champions League clash with Bayern Munich, after Foxes made life tough for Cityzens with late surge

  • Manchester City beat Leicester 3-1 in their Premier League clash on Saturday
  • The Foxes made life tough for the home side with a late spell of pressure
  • It came after Pep Guardiola made a number of early changes in the game 

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola admitted that what should have been an easy 3-1 win over relegation strugglers ended up being uncomfortable in the later stages, as the Premier League champions were forced to withstand an onslaught from Leicester.

With an eye on City’s Champions League quarter-final second leg in Munich on Wednesday, Guardiola made a raft of early substitutions — goalscorers John Stones and Erling Haaland both withdrawn at half-time, and Rodri and influential playmaker Kevin De Bruyne both hooked before the game reached its 63rd minute.

‘That normally happens when you make a lot of substitutions,’ Guardiola said of the last 15 minutes of Leicester pressure. ‘We should avoid it.

‘But sometimes it happens and it is important we started really well after the Champions League.

 We (brought on) subs to let players rest, but we lost some control, though in general it was a deserved victory.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City beat Leicester 3-1 on Saturday despite a spell of late pressure from the Foxes

‘We start the game to win the game. The game is never done until it’s done. But after 3-0, and especially with the control and Erling Haaland playing all 90 minutes against Bayern Munich, we have to think about injuries.’

City take a 3-0 lead to Bayern on Wednesday. ‘We have to try our game and think we will win the game,’ said Guardiola.

‘It’s a real tough opponent. We go there to achieve something unique, to reach a semi-final.

‘We have to play with the right mentality and be stable in the bad moments and go for it.’

Dean Smith, after his first match in charge of Leicester, said, ‘I thought our second-half performance was better.

Erlin 

Erling Haaland was taken off after bagging a brace that took him to 32 Premier League goals this season

John Stones was also hooked after building on his man of the match performance against Bayern Munich in midweek with an early goal

‘It was a bit us being more committed and a bit them putting the brakes on. But I was pleased and I thought we created some big chances.

‘You do fear the worst when you give them a lead of 3-0 after 20 minutes. 

‘But if you look at the goals, John Stones has put one in from 20 yards with his left foot into the top corner, then a handball [for the penalty] and all of a sudden we’re 2-0 down.

‘Yes, you’re fearful but I thought the lads showed a lot of character in the second half.’

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