Man City lost the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals to Spurs and now the Citizens will have to play the second leg with a 1-0 deficit.
Pep Guardiola chose to make a number of changes to his first eleven and perhaps the most notable one was starting both De Bruyne and Leroy Sane on the substitutes bench.
The Man City boss chose to play with two holding midfielders which meant Kevin De Bruyne could not find a role in the starting XI. Guardiola though did manage to bring the Belgian on but oddly enough he did it in the 88th minute of the game.
And this decision from the Spanish manager has raised a number of eyebrows.
But speaking after the match, former Man United keeper Peter Schmeichel has explained why Pep Guardiola waited so long to introduce Kevin De Bruyne.
“When you look at the line-up, I think he’d have been very happy with a draw,” the United legend told beIN Sports(as reported by MEN).
“Even at 1-0, it’s probably not too bad.
“What happened was it was a period when Spurs began to tire.
“So he thought ‘let’s put on someone fresh who can keep the ball’.
“As for saving it for the 88th minute, with De Bruyne being out, I think he’s trying to nurture him back in.
“He’s been in and out since he’s been injured. I think he looks at Kevin de Bruyne as a key player in the run in, so he’s trying to slowly get him back.
“I actually think he was resting him today.”
Despite a 1-0 loss, things are still not too bleak for Man City as they still have the enormous talent pool to turn the game around and there are no prizes for guessing that both Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne will be part of that starting XI at Etihad.
