Pep Guardiola admits that dropping his Manchester City players from the starting line-up is the hardest part of his job.
Guardiola often chooses to shuffle his pack at City, having to manage a hectic schedule with his side often progressing to the latter stages of every competition. This year, the Blues are in the final of the FA Cup, semi-final of the Champions League and battling for the Premier League title.
The quality and depth of his squad often means world-class players are dropped to the bench, with the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish fighting for one place. In other cases, the form and availability of players like Rodri means Kalvin Phillips can barely get a game in his debut season.
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A lack of guaranteed football has often led to some players moving on, like Gabriel Jesus who joined Arsenal last summer, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Raheem Sterling have also moved on.
"The most difficult by far, miles, miles away," Guardiola admitted when asked about dropping players. "If you are a little bit sensitive, by far. There’s no solution, it’s hard. When players deserve to play and they cannot play, it kills me."
City have played 54 games already this season and could total 61, should they progress past Real Madrid and into the Champions League final. Guardiola has had to manage the workload of several players who have a history of picking up injuries, not least Kevin De Bruyne.
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