Why Phil Foden was subbed off at half-time for Manchester City vs Bournemouth

Manchester City kept their superb record alive over the weekend by seeing off Bournemouth by four goals to nil.

City have now beaten the Cherries 16 times throughout history, with the remaining two games ending as draws.

Following Saturday’s game, Pep Guardiola has explained why Phil Foden was taken off at the break after such an impressive start, which saw him notch one goal and one assist.

Some speculated that it was because the Englishman failed to cut it back to Erling Haaland early in the tie for a tap-in.

But via quotes that emerged on Sunday evening, Pep explained otherwise:

“I wanted to play Jack [Grealish] and do some movements they have done. We spoke that we had not done it but especially because it was tough not to play Jack because he played awesome against West Ham,” Pep said.

“At the same time Riyad [Mahrez] is always important in small spaces and can find the right pass and action. Phil is so important, always creates something unexpected, dynamic, intelligent with movement but he is young and sometimes has to understand what to do.

“After 45 minutes I wanted Jack to play. It was a tough decision for me to not play him because he played well against West Ham. I had the feeling he was ready, the games in pre-season and especially against West Ham he was really, really good.”

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