“Did we hurt Pep’s ego by praising him?” - Fans baffled as Guardiola refuses to name Manchester City star in squad to face West Ham
Fans have reacted to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola not including new signing Savinho in their line-up to face West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday (August 31).
Man City signed the Brazilian winger for a reported £30.8 million this summer. Savinho made his debut for City in their 7-6 win on penalties in the FA Cup Community clash against Manchester United.
After a decent debut performance, fans expected Savinho to be a part of Guardiola's starting XI to face West Ham. However, the Brazilian has not been named as a starter or a substitute.
Guardiola went with a 3-2-4-1 lineup, with Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and Manuel Akanji in the defense. Mateo Kovacic and Rico Lewis form the double pivot. Erling Haaland leads the attack, with Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, and Jack Grealish following. Ederson starts as the goalkeeper.
Fans took to X to criticize Savinho's exclusion in the starting line-up, with many wondering whether the Man City boss was cross with people praising the Brazilian. An X user wrote:
"What happened to Savinho? Did we hurt Pep’s ego by praising him?"
"BUT WHERE IS SAVIO," a fan asked.
"They mistakenly sold savio on the transfer deadline thinking it was Nunes," another user joked.
"What happened to savinho?," an individual questioned.
"Dropping Savio is crazy," another one chimed in.
Fans continued to be disappointed with the Brazilian not making it in the starting XI, and said:
"No savio ball today," a user exclaimed.
"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME WHERE IS SAVINHO," an X user wrote.
"Where is our Savinho?," a fan questioned again.
"Why is Savinho not here, even in the bench?," a fan wondered.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola provides injury update for key players ahead of West Ham clash
In the pre-match press conference, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola provided fitness updates for three of his key players: Mateo Kovacic, Phil Foden, and Rodri. The coach said:
“Rodri is much better. (Mateo) Kovacic as well. Phil (Foden) still doesn’t feel good. The rest are OK."
The coach included Rodri among the substitutes in the squad against West Ham, while Kovacic is back in the starting line-up. However, Foden is still yet to make his return to the Etihad.
Guardiola also spoke about midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who returned to Manchester City this summer after one season at Barcelona. The returning treble-winning captain has been included in the squad to face West Ham. The Catalan coach said:
"He needs one minute, no more than that, to settle. He's a top-class player and he knows the mechanics of what we try to do. We knew it and it has happened."
The coach also considered letting Argentine forward Julian Alvarez go to Atletico Madrid a 'mistake', but chose to focus on working with the available squad.