Pep Guardiola used zero substitutes across the 92 minutes of action against Fulham today, having previously campaigned for the five-sub rule to return.
As we have heard all too often in recent weeks, fixture congestion as is big of a problem for Premier League teams as it has ever been. The concept of protecting player welfare has been pushed to one side this term in order to get football moving again amid the pandemic.
While we can fully understand that fact, it hasn’t stopped managers from complaining to the media.
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As reported by talkSPORT, Man City manager Pep Guardiola previously insisted that he would fight for the return of the five-substitute rule. So, can someone explain why the Spaniard thought it appropriate to use zero – not one – substitutes today against Fulham?
Man City played 92 minutes at the Etihad without using a single substitute – and it’s not as though they didn’t have any viable options on the bench.
Substitutes and fees signed for, as was reported:
- Steffen – £7M, M.E.N
- Laporte – £57M, BBC
- Bernardo Silva – £43M, Sky Sports
- Torres – £20M, BBC
- Fernandinho – £30M, BBC
- Foden – Academy
- Garcia – Academy
- Total: £157M
If Guardiola is actually interested in player welfare, then he ought to use the three substitutes available for him, especially when his team were cruising 2-0 up against relegation-battling Fulham.