A joke, argued Gary Neville. Pep Guardiola let himself down in naming only six substitutes at Burnley and in turn belittled Manchester City's expensive academy.
'If you're the academy or reserve team manager at Manchester City you must think "I'm wasting my time",' Neville said. 'Forget the fact they've spent however much money, six players on the bench… to me it's like a protest. I'm not sure why he's peddling this theme.'
Neville was certainly worked up inside Turf Moor, but Guardiola's actions were not inherently wrong. It's not overly uncommon for managers to go a man light on the bench, particularly with the length of injury list Guardiola is currently contending with.