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Guardiola defends rotating Man City squad despite FA Cup scare
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Guardiola defends rotating Man City squad despite FA Cup scare

Pep Guardiola - Manchester City
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A much-changed City squad had a big scare in their FA Cup tie with Cheltenham and had to dig deep to win.

Pep Guardiola has no regrets over his squad selection after Manchester City overcame a tricky trip to Cheltenham in their FA Cup fourth round tie on Saturday.

The Catalan coach made 10 changes from the team that defeated Aston Villa 2-0 midweek. Only Phil Foden remained in the line-up. That said, City weren’t exactly short on quality either way. Gabriel Jesus, Riyad Mahrez, Fernandinho, and Aymeric Laporte all started at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium.

It was League Two side Cheltenham who took the lead instead, however, through Alfie May just before the hour-mark.

But Foden, Jesus, and Ferran Torres came to the rescue to spearhead a second-half comeback for City.

“I didn’t have regrets even when we were 1-0 down,” Guardiola told BBC on his squad selection.

“We had clear chances from the first minute. When they take advantage it gets complicated but we got it to 1-1 and it was tight. We came here with humility and had the quality to make the difference.”

City will next head to West Brom on Tuesday night for a Premier League match.