Alan Shearer has been left stunned by what he’s heard about two particular Manchester City players recently.
Their latest game saw the Blues draw 1-1 and then lose on penalties to Real Madrid in the second-leg quarter-final round of the Champions League.
With the Citizens now denied the chance of regaining their European title, one pundit has shared his thoughts on something that was revealed shortly after the game.
Shearer stunned by Man City duo
Speaking in a recent edition of The Rest Is Football, Shearer had this to say after Pep Guardiola revealed that Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland asked to be subbed off after 90 minutes due to tiredness.
He said: “Really? Unless you’re hobbling around on one leg, a request to come off. I’m not sure about that. In a game of that magnitude, can I come off boss? I would be amazed.”
Prior to Wednesday night’s game, De Bruyne and Haaland completed 81 minutes in last weekend’s Premier League match against Luton Town.
After the initial 90 minutes, Haaland was substituted for Julian Alvarez , whereas De Bruyne was taken off in the 112th minute for Mateo Kovacic.
Is Shearer right to question Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne?
Taking into account how the Citizens made 698 passes in the first 90 minutes and racked up 26 shots at goal in the same period, it’s clear that this was a very high-energy game and therefore making it unsurprising to us that the duo found themselves unable to continue.
If Guardiola knew that these two players would have done all they could to help their side beat Real, if they said they couldn’t give anymore, we feel that it would have been irresponsible for the Spaniard to keep them on and risk them getting injured.
Therefore, despite Shearer’s doubts, we have no concerns about Haaland and De Bruyne asking to come off or Guardiola’s decision to do so.