Pep Guardiola says he had no choice but to make seven changes to his Manchester City side to face Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final as he hinted at injury issues in his squad.
Guardiola made the changes to his City side that edged past Atletico Madrid in a bruising Champions League encounter on Wednesday. Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker limped off in Madrid, and only De Bruyne was fit enough to make the squad against Liverpool as he started on the bench.
With fitness and injuries in mind, Guardiola recalled Zack Steffen, Nathan Ake, Aleks Oleksandr Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus, and the manager explained there was no alternative after three games in the last two weeks against Atletico, then Liverpool, then Atletico again.
