Sunday 21 February 2016 20:37, UK
Manuel Pellegrini defended his decision to make nine changes after Manchester City lost 5-1 to Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Only Fernando and Pablo Zabaleta kept their places from the 2-1 Premier League loss to Tottenham last weekend as the City manager gave full debuts to five academy players.
Young striker David Faupala drew City level but they conceded four second-half goals to exit the competition, and with commitments in the Premier League, Capital One Cup and Champions League, Pellegrini felt he had "no choice" but to make changes.
"I think it's important for young players to play," Pellegrini said. "They took their chance. I was very happy. Unfortunately, it's never good to lose 5-1, that's why I was not happy about the score, but I think there were many positive things for our young players.
"Maybe it's not the best thing to do all of them together but we had no choice as we had just 13 [fit] players. If there's one team that respects all the cups, it's this team.
"That's why we're in the final of the Capital One Cup and won the previous two games in this competition. But I think this team has more important things at this moment.
"We are just in the fifth round of the FA Cup. If we continue, we don't have time. We have an option for the first time for our club to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. With just 13 players, it's not prioritising, it's just common-sense to make these decisions."
City have lost three matches in succession for the first time under Pellegrini, who called for the FA Cup to change its format prior to the defeat, but the City manager believes his team selection was in the club's best interest.
"I don't think that I need a defence," he continued. "We played two rounds before and both times we drew Premier League teams and we won 4-0 and 3-0.
"I think one of the most important things that we must do here in England is try to help English teams who are trying to play in the Champions League.
"We cannot take the risk with just 13 players. If I had 20 players maybe, but with just 13 I cannot take the risk of players not recovering when we have a long flight [on Monday]. I think we did the correct thing; the best decision for our club."
Faupala cancelled out Diego Costa's opener shortly before half-time, but two goals in five minutes after the break helped Chelsea book a quarter-final tie against Everton.
"I think we played the first half very well," Pellegrini added. "It was a very tight game with both teams playing. Maybe Chelsea were the best team and we were playing with six young players but I was very happy.
"Unfortunately for us, in five minutes we threw away all the good work we'd done. At 3-1, it was very difficult. We created a few chances but also Chelsea scored more goals. Of course, as the game continues young players will tire because of the pace of the game."
