Pep Guardiola warned Raheem Sterling that he will soon have even more competition for a place in the squad after leaving him out of the squad to face Fulham.
Asked if Sterling simply needed a rest, Guardiola instead highlighted that defender Eric Garcia – set to leave on a free in summer – merited inclusion and that Nathan Ake would also do so in the coming matches.
Pep Guardiola said: “Eric Garcia deserves to be here, Nathan too when he’s fit. Everybody wants to be involved from the beginning. Now it’s perfect as we rotate six or seven players from the beginning every game. Everyone is fit. When it’s working well it’s all ‘how brilliant we are in our decisions’. The route we are going to take is not to complain or say why we rotate or why the players didn’t play. To win the Premier League and all the titles we need everyone, everyone, everyone. We do the best for the club and the best for the team. When that happens, we can compete in all competitions for the year.”
Asked if Sterling was ok, Pep Guardiola said “Yes, he’s ok.”
Asked if the forward would come back into contention for the Champions League game on Tuesday, Pep Guardiola’s said “On Sunday we will train and we will see.”
