Manchester City Pep Guardiola reveals his hidden reason why Ruben Dias was the bench for Man City vs Liverpool match draw (1-1)

Pep Guardiola talked about why he chose the team that Man City will play Liverpool in the Premier League.

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, explained why Ruben Dias wasn’t playing at Anfield this afternoon.

In recent weeks, the Portugal international has been one of the Blues’ most reliable players, but Manuel Akanji was chosen to play defense, with Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker lined up next to him in a three-man defense.

Manchester City is still trying to win the Treble this season, and they know that a loss on Merseyside could hurt their chances of winning their third straight Premier League title. Guardiola told Sky Sports why Dias missed the game against Liverpool this afternoon.

“Having traveled three-to-four central defenders, I decided for Manu [Manuel Akanji] with his speed – he is facing one of the fastest players [Darwin Nunez],” said the City head coach.

There’s no question that the 26-year-old defender will be upset that he won’t be able to play in the huge game against Jurgen Klopp’s team, especially since Arsenal is still very close behind both teams in the title race with ten games left in a very competitive season.

Only twice this season, in 3-1 and 6-1 wins over Burnley and Bournemouth, has Dias been called in as a substitute. City does have a lot of games coming up, which may be another reason why Guardiola is resting the center-back today.

This coming weekend, the Blues will play Newcastle United in the FA Cup quarterfinals. After the international break at the end of March, they will play Arsenal.