John Terry slammed Pep Guardiola’s decision to rotate his side after Manchester City’s FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool.
The City boss elected to ring the changes at Wembley following their gruelling Champions League quarter-final at Atletico Madrid in midweek. Guardiola made seven changes from the goalless draw in Spain, including swapping first choice goalkeeper Ederson for Zack Steffen.
The decision ultimately backfired, with Steffen at fault for Liverpool’s second goal as the Reds raced into a 3-0 lead before half-time. The American keeper dawdled on the ball, allowing Sadio Mane to slide in and turn the ball home.
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The incident prompted Terry to comment on Guardiola’s selection, with the former Chelsea and England captain criticising the City boss’ decision to rotate his squad heavily. “That is why you don’t rest or rotate your best players. Play your best and strongest team!” Terry tweeted, along with an emoji of a pair of gloves, directly referencing the decision to start Steffen.
City’s defeat means their hopes of completing a treble this season are now over. They can still complete a Premier League and Champions League double though, with the Blues battling with Liverpool on both of those fronts as well.
Guardiola’s decision to make so many changes at Wembley appeared to indicate he was prioritising City’s two other competitions, with the Blues facing Brighton in the league on Wednesday. Terry, though, believes he made the wrong calls on the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson.
He added: “The problem is resting players for the game which means they train the next day?”
“It’s bizarre, you might as well play and then recover the following day or have a day off. I would always play my strongest team to win the games. Get 3-0 up then take them off or rest them.”
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