Haaland decision suggests Pep's real priority
At the weekend, Pep Guardiola said he wasn't thinking about Sunday's trip to Liverpool at all, with this trip to Copenhagen — and Champions League qualification — the top priority. If it was, though, he'd have surely started goal machine Erling Haaland in Denmark, but for the first time since joining Manchester City he was on the bench.
Guardiola explained that fitness and fatigue was his reason for dropping players, especially Haaland, therefore suggesting they were being saved for the Liverpool trip on Sunday. While Copenhagen were obviously the weaker opposition of the two, dropping Haaland felt like an admission that Liverpool have always been the priority.
And keeping him on the bench throughout the contest cemented that.
Gomez wastes golden chance
Sergio Gomez came into this game on the back of three assists in his previous three appearances, with a chance to build on his two in last week's meeting with Copenhagen. However, when he tugged down Hakon Arnar Haraldsson 20 yards out as the last man, even referee Artur Dias couldn't get the decision wrong and he had to be sent off.
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He's now suspended for the trip to former club Borussia Dortmund, where he would have been likely to start now City are qualified, and won't be in Guardiola's good books by stretching an already-thin full-back department. His start to life at the Etihad was good until that point, but may have played himself out of the starting XI versus Liverpool.
Mahrez's backwards step
Another opportunity came and went for Riyad Mahrez, who had scored two in his previous two starts following some public criticism of his fitness and physical condition from his manager. Still, a third successive start was a chance to continue to prove Guardiola wrong, although his night couldn't have gone much worse.
He was blameless for the decision to disallow Rodri's brilliant strike, with the ball brushing his hand under pressure and the referee harshly ruling it out.
A chance to redeem himself came from another poor handball decision, this time in City's favour to win a penalty. Mahrez took it, but missed tamely, and when Gomez was dismissed, it was Mahrez sacrificed, capping a 30 minutes to forget that could have harmed his longer-term chances of staying in the team.
Three starters 'confirmed' vs Liverpool?
Guardiola's comment that those rested were tired could refer to Haaland, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Dias — the four biggest names on the bench in Copenhagen. The manager called a trip to Liverpool the toughest test in English football, so it shouldn't be a surprise he wants to take a squad as fit as possible.
Haaland will surely start that game, as would Foden who has terrorised Liverpool on City's previous two visits. Bernardo is another who loves playing Jurgen Klopp's men, while Dias would have fancied his chances of playing after a midweek place on the bench before his early introduction.
Other players like Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne will also be confident of starting at Anfield, although the substitutes in Denmark feel like a clear hint to Guardiola's plans.
Alvarez let down
This should have been a chance for Julian Alvarez to show his true qualities without playing in the shadow of Haaland. He averaged a goal every 93 minutes before Tuesday, scoring three goals in his only other two starts. He did well to cushion the ball for Rodri to score early on, but the referee wrongly ruled it out for an earlier handball.
From the moment Gomez was sent off, Alvarez's job changed and his chances of scoring were minimal. While he never stopped running and closing down, he was denied the opportunity to play off the shoulder in an attacking formation.
And with City failing to score for the first time this season, you sense Haaland won't be dropped too often again, limiting Alvarez's chances further.
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