Pep Guardiola has said that he didn’t use any substitutes in the Manchester Derby because his side was in so much control.
The Manchester City boss opted not to use any of the players available on his nine-man bench in today’s game as he felt the that there was no need to use them.
In his post-match interview Guardiola revealed that he thought the game was “comfortable” for his side so didn’t feel the need to make any changes.
You can watch the full video below.
?"Everything was comfortable."
Pep Guardiola feels sorry for the players on his bench as they didn't get the chance to play but he felt nothing needed to change pic.twitter.com/33BAxZO0Fd
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 6, 2021
Pictures courtesy of Sky Sports
Guardiola could be forgiven for not using his bench at all considering that his assessment of the game was very fair.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United were far below their best today, as proven by the fact United goalkeeper David de Gea had to make more saves against his own team today than Man City goalie Ederson did.
Solskjaer, who before today actually had a positive record against Guardiola, opted to use all three of his permitted changes, as well as a concussion sub that saw Luke Shaw replaced by Alex Telles under the rule.
With the win Man City move to within two points of league leaders Chelsea, who are in action against relegation battlers Burnley.
Meanwhile City’s local rivals fall six points behind The Citizens and could fall into the bottom half if results go against them this weekend.