According to Sam Lee, a certain Manchester City player looked “surprised” when he was substituted against Chelsea.
Any decision Pep Guardiola made cannot really be questioned as City did go on to win 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-final.
Considering the stature of the game, it is understandable if players wish to play throughout the course of the clash.
Even if the FA Cup is perhaps not viewed as highly as it was in the past, it still remains an incredibly prestigious competition.
Winners like the players at City would also want to add as many trophies to their cabinets as possible instead of not taking such games seriously.
Especially to put themselves in a better place after their defeat to Real Madrid on penalties; which must still be stinging the players, the manager and even the staff.
Sam Lee says one City player looked “surprised” after substitution vs Chelsea
Up until Bernardo Silva’s winner, it seemed like Pep Guardiola had to use his bench to add a sense of freshness to his team’s performance.
Usually, Guardiola’s City side find a spring in their steps in big games, regardless of the circumstances.
But against Chelsea, it seemed like the Sky Blues were there for the taking.
However, much like during the Blues’ defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final this season, they failed to get the job done.
Pep Guardiola is known not to make too many substitutions, even after the rule to bring on five substitutes in a game was introduced in the Premier League.
But against Mauricio Pochettino’s side, he had no choice but to do so.
As a result, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola brought Jeremy Doku on to replace Jack Grealish, a decision which Sam Lee felt surprised the Englishman against Chelsea.
Lee wrote on X, “Doku comes on for Grealish who was, for me, City’s best player. He looks surprised, and I’m not sure it can be purely down to that knock because Guardiola seemed to call for Doku before anybody could know how serious the knock was.”
As Shaun Wright-Phillips rightly stated after the game, Jeremy Doku was “fantastic” and he “changed the game” for Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola made a great decision
In our view, Manchester City winger Jack Grealish perhaps had every right to be surprised with Pep Guardiola for taking him off against Chelsea.
Grealish was arguably City’s best performer on the day and for him to be substituted as early in the 66 minute was a shock.
That too when Bernardo Silva was having a quiet game and Jeremy Doku could simply have replaced him and played on the right flank up against Ben Chilwell.
But it seems like Guardiola did not want to take Bernardo off after his disappointment from the penalty spot mid-week and gave him a chance to prove his worth, which he did with his winning goal.
As for Doku, he shone brightly as well and added a much-needed spark to a flat City side.
With Jack Grealish also being on the receiving end of a rough tackle from Moises Caicedo, perhaps Pep Guardiola also decided to take the Manchester City superstar off against Chelsea as a precautionary measure.
All in all, Guardiola made the right decision and was proven right.