Pep Guardiola made just one substitute in Manchester City’s defeat to Manchester United, bringing on Jack Grealish for Phil Foden before the hour mark, but he didn’t have a lot of attacking talent to call upon from the bench.
Julian Alvarez, who was an unused substitute, can operate up front and on either flank but only has one Premier League goal since August. Ilkay Gundogan is a replacement playmaker but also has one league goal since August and hasn’t made an assist for five months either.
Stefan Ortega, Sergio Gomez, Aymeric Laporte, Rico Lewis, Kalvin Phillips and Cole Palmer were the other substitutes, so Guardiola didn’t have a lot of attacking alternatives.
Erling Haaland failed to register a shot on target, but Guardiola clearly didn’t feel he could call upon Alvarez in his stead, likely due to him playing a full 90 minutes in the FA Cup on January 8 and EFL Cup on January 11.
Riyad Mahrez was also ineffectual, but Palmer wasn’t likely to be introduced for him as he’s failed to score or make an assist this season.
In other news, Phil Foden struggled v Man Utd
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