EPL: Why I didn’t play Haaland, De Bruyne against Aston Villa – Guardiola

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EPL: Why I didn’t play Haaland, De Bruyne against Aston Villa – Guardiola

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola has explained his decision to rest Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne against Aston Villa.

Phil Foden scored a hat-trick as the Premier League champions beat a top-five team for the first time this season.

On resting Haaland and De Bruyne, Guardiola said: “They could play and rest other players.

“We put the players out to win it, not just to rest players.

“We need fresh legs and we only played three days ago against Arsenal. We needed it because of the schedule so we needed the rest.”

City’s 4-1 win over Villa means they remain third with 67 points, level with Liverpool who host Sheffield United on Thursday.