Jack Grealish and Phil Foden have been pictured on a night out last week that seemingly led to their omissions from the Manchester City team at Newcastle on Sunday.
Both Grealish and Foden scored in the 7-0 win over Leeds last Tuesday, but were dropped to the bench in City's 4-0 victory at Newcastle this weekend.
Asked about his selection after the game at St James' Park, Guardiola told BBC 5Live that a 'behaviour issue' was behind his selection rather than his usual rotation.
“Not rotation, no. I decided for this team because they deserved to play today, these guys and not the other ones," he said.
“At Christmas time I pay a lot of attention to behaviour on and off the pitch. And when off the pitch is not proper they are not going to play.
“So we have to be focussed all the time because of distractions at Christmas time and everything that happens - you have to still be focussed.”
It was understood that Guardiola was referring to Grealish and Foden, and on Monday reports in the Telegraph and the Times said the pair visited a nightclub after the Leeds win, leaving City staff 'unimpressed' with their condition when reporting for a recovery session the next day.
Neither player came off the bench at Newcastle, with Guardiola also confirming after the game that City are ensuring players and staff are vigilant against Covid as the Premier League saw six fixtures postponed this weekend.
