Pep Guardiola committed a gaffe against Bournemouth by introducing a Manchester City player who hadn’t even trained.

As Manchester City lost 2-1 against AFC Bournemouth, Pep Guardiola admitted that the superior team triumphed on the day.

Guardiola said that Manchester City “could not handle” Bournemouth’s intensity in the aftermath of the match.

Ederson Moraes produced four crucial saves to keep Manchester City in contention for much of the game.

Josko Gvardiol matched Nicolas Jackson’s Premier League record of six away goals in 2024, although his powerful header was ruled insignificant after the final whistle.

Pep Guardiola praised Nathan Ake for starting against Bournemouth despite his foot injury.

Following the match, Guardiola admitted [via journalist Mike Minay] that Kyle Walker had not even practiced before being thrust into the starting lineup against the Cherries.

Read More: Who Is Kyle Walker? Keep up with Manchester City’s unbelievably quick £50 million captain.

Pep Guardiola made a mistake starting unfit. Kyle Walker, Manchester City against Bournemouth
Walker made a surprising start at the Vitality Stadium after returning from a recent injury, despite Pep Guardiola admitting he was not totally fit.

Recently, the Catalan manager stated that Rico Lewis will continue to start every game until the veteran is ready, telling HaytersTV: “Rico [Lewis] is the one player we cannot rest. We’d like to rest, but we can’t.

However, Pep Guardiola chose to start the 34-year-old and rest Lewis on Saturday.

Manchester City criticised Walker’s performance against Andoni Iraola’s team, claiming it was one of his toughest nights this season.

Antoine Semenyo had a field day against the Manchester City right-back, as he opened the scoring with a fantastic strike and beat the seasoned customer on several occasions.

Walker’s statistics show how awful he was against Bournemouth, and especially how much he struggled against Semenyo.

KYLE WALKER STATS VS BOURNEMOUTH: Ground duels won 3/9, aerial duels won 1/4.

DRIBBLED PAST: 3 Tackles won: 1/50 Fouls committed: 2 via FOTMOB.
The Ghanaian speedster has been one of the Premier League’s top wingers this season, with four goals and one assist.

As a result, Pep Guardiola’s choice to start a defender who hadn’t even trained before the game must be scrutinized.

Given Guardiola’s recent remark that Lewis is a vital starter for the time being, he could have started him from the beginning once more.

With Manuel Akanji starting against Bournemouth, he could have also been used as a makeshift right-back, a position the Swiss international has previously played in.

Walker, who has faced his fair share of adversity, was pitted against a great winger despite being unfit.

Unsurprisingly, the six-time Premier League winner had a nightmare showing on the south coast because he had not trained before of the game.

With the Bournemouth wideman being his team’s best player, Pep Guardiola’s decision to start Walker against him was an uncalculated gamble, especially given that the hosts are one of England’s best counter-attacking teams, promising a contest in which both sets of players must bring a lot of energy to the table.

In the case of another player, such as Ake, Guardiola’s choice to put the Dutchman’s fitness at risk was far more comprehensible because his workload in controlling Evanilson was shared by his centre-back partner, Akanji.

Walker thinks Manchester City would not use the missing Rodri aspect as a “excuse” for Bournemouth’s loss.
Walker reacted on Rodri’s absence, stating that Manchester City will not allow themselves to lose games, such as their recent defeat to Bournemouth, by blaming Rodri’s injury.

The Englishman responded, “I don’t believe we’re using that as an excuse. We have people on the bench as well as individuals who began today and believed they were ready to play.”

“We do not use that as an excuse. We need to give full credit to Bournemouth and move on to the next one.”

“To come here and not get the win is always disappointing.”

Walker’s attitude is certain to please Pep Guardiola.

Especially given that the treble winner was content to start from the start despite not training ahead of the high-octane event.

However, Pep Guardiola did put Walker under the bus, and his Manchester City team paid a high price for his daring action.