Pep Guardiola was happy to talk about how Newcastle had impressed against his Manchester City side or the character his side had shown to salvage a point but was less keen whenever Nathan Ake was raised.
The Blues boss gave short, sharp answers to any questions about the state of Ake, who looked upset as he was forced off after just 20 minutes at St James' Park with a groin injury. Whether he would have been involved against Barcelona or not in midweek, that decision is no longer the manager's to make and the concern is for the longer term starting with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
With Aymeric Laporte still weeks away from a return, losing Ake as well leaves Guardiola with just Ruben Dias and John Stones as his senior centre-backs - two world-class defenders on their day but still only two bodies. Luke Mbete is an untried academy option and Kalvin Phillips or Rodri could drop back if needed, but these are far from ideal circumstances so early in the season and especially coming on the back of the monstering the defence suffered against Newcastle.
Also read: Man City fan reactions to Phil Foden touch on wider Guardiola question
Ake's injury also heightens worries from fans over the friendly with Barcelona on Wednesday night. When he answered questions about it last week, Guardiola refused to countenance the idea that City shouldn't play a charity match that they have been invited to for a good cause in honour of a man the manager worked with at Barcelona but spoke with the air of a man who knew he was open to criticism.
There are, when you think about it, more sporting reasons to play this match now than there would have been to squeeze a game against the same opponents into their pre-season tour. Nobody would have batted an eyelid had the two sides met in Miami two days after facing Bayern Munich in Green Bay despite the fact it would have been worse for the conditioning of the squad.
However, in addition to fan unhappiness at the way Barcelona have acted towards City over Bernardo Silva this summer, there are legitimate worries over what could go wrong on Wednesday night at Camp Nou. A mid-season friendly looks at odds with a man who regularly complains (with justification) that the demands on players in the modern era are too much and will backfire spectacularly if there is a significant injury however down to fortune it may be.
City have turned the long week before Crystal Palace into another mini pre-season, the squad flying directly to Spain from Newcastle on Sunday and spending a few days training at Girona that will also allow Guardiola to catch up with the chairman and CEO who will surely be doing everything they can to convince the manager to sign a new contract. For the players it is more time to gel and bond in a relaxed environment that should pay dividends over the next eight months, having been given a generous amount of holiday since the end of last season.
With no media or commercial obligations, these next few days could be hugely significant towards the next year for City and beyond - but Guardiola simply cannot afford the imminent setback of losing any players to injury in a friendly when there is no guarantee it would have happened had they not been playing a match of relatively high intensity in Barcelona.
Returning with Bernardo will be priceless and coming back without any further defensive setbacks is probably as important to City's hopes of success this season.
READ NEXT:
