Pep Guardiola Defends Manchester City Selection for UCL Loss to Tottenham

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has defended his team selection for Tuesday's 1-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League. 

The Premier League champions fell to defeat in the first leg of their quarter-final after Heung-Min Son's second-half goal. Sergio Aguero saw a spot-kick saved for Manchester City in the first period, and the South Korean struck in the 78th minute.

However, Guardiola didn't react until late on, with Kevin De Bruyne and Leroy Sane only introduced into the game in the 88th minute.

Despite a disappointing display overall, Guardiola defended the XI he picked and the manner of City's performance in north London, per Joe Wright of Goal:

"I decided to play with two holding midfielders in that position to be a bit more solid. I decided for the other ones. I know it is tough for him [De Bruyne]. ...

"Now we know what we have to do. I have the feeling the game was quite good. We controlled them and arrived with some quality situations. In the high competitions, at a high level, you have to live these situations. Now we have another option, another chance and that is the point.

"They had a few chances on the counter-attack but we controlled the game and played quite good."

This is the winning goal from Tuesday's encounter, with Son netting at Spurs' new stadium for the second time in as many matches (U.S. only):

Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Independent commented on Guardiola's reputation for overcomplicating his team selections in the big games:

While Guardiola appeared calm about the result and City's overall performance, there were some aspects of the display that would have worried him.

City are typically bright and fluid in the final third, but they struggled to move the ball quickly on Tuesday. Not only were they without Bernardo Silva, who has been one of their standout performers this season, they played in an unfamiliar 4-4-1-1 shape, with David Silva pushed forward in support of Aguero.

Ultimately, it was a setup that left City with a deficit to make up when the two sides play again at the Etihad Stadium next week. Guardiola will be pleased to get back on home soil, as his record on the road in the Champions League is poor:

Duncan Alexander of Opta put that into context:

While many would still make City favourites to progress overall, especially with Harry Kane potentially missing the second leg for Tottenham due to an ankle injury picked up in the game, 1-0 is a dangerous scoreline to be trying to overhaul. If Spurs score at the Etihad, it gives City a mountain to climb.

City are in pursuit of four trophies this season, and it would have been a shock if they hadn't turned in the odd jaded performance in the run-in. Guardiola will be keen to see his players recover well for the remainder of the week and get back on track in the Premier League on Sunday against Crystal Palace.