Ex-Chelsea Player Dropped For Tactical Reasons

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was dropped from the starting XI for the Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.

Former Chelsea player De Bruyne was left on the bench for the first leg clash of the Citizens’ Champions League quarterfinal tie with Spurs at the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Kevin De Bruyne came on for the final minutes of the game in place of David Silva but he was unable to prevent Manchester City from suffering a 1-0 defeat at the hands of their hosts.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-Min scored the only goal of the game to give his team a second successive win from just two games at their new home.

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In his post-match reaction to the game, Manchester City boss Guardiola explained why he dropped Kevin De Bruyne from his starting XI as he revealed that it was more of a tactical switch.

According to him, he wanted to provide more solidity in the midfield with Ilkay Gundogan replacing De Bruyne in the starting XI.

Guardiola would be hoping that his team can recover from the defeat when they travel to face Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park at the weekend.

Manchester City host Spurs for the second leg of their last eight tie next week Wednesday.