- Goalkeeper’s error allowed Sadio Mané to score in 3-2 defeat
- Guardiola said busy schedule meant he had to rotate squad
Pep Guardiola defended his team selection and stand-in goalkeeper, Zack Steffen, following a dreadful first-half display that ruined Manchester City’s Treble chances in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.
Liverpool led 3-0 at the break, courtesy of a first-half performance that Jürgen Klopp labelled the best of his reign plus a calamitous error by Steffen, who dithered on John Stones’s back pass and allowed Sadio Mané to score with a tackle. The US international was one of seven changes Guardiola made from the team that started Wednesday’s bruising Champions League quarter-final at Atlético Madrid. He was adamant there was no alternative in the midst of a gruelling schedule and pursuit of the Premier League title.
