Guardiola Benches 35-Goal Trio Against Palace as Man City Juggles 3 Games in 8 Days
Updated
Updated · ESPN · May 13
Guardiola Benches 35-Goal Trio Against Palace as Man City Juggles 3 Games in 8 Days
8 articles · Updated · ESPN · May 13
Erling Haaland, Jérémy Doku and Rayan Cherki all started on the bench against Crystal Palace, with Omar Marmoush, Phil Foden and Savinho brought in for a must-win league match.
Guardiola said the changes were driven by a packed run of three matches in eight days, with Chelsea awaiting in Saturday's FA Cup final before a trip to in-form Bournemouth.
City began the night five points behind Arsenal entering the final week, meaning any dropped points against Palace would let Arsenal seal the Premier League title on Monday by beating Burnley.
The gamble is notable because the rested trio have scored 35 league goals this season, and Doku has netted three times in his last two games to keep City's title bid alive.
Palace carry their own fixture-management concerns after beating City in last season's FA Cup final and before a May 27 Conference League final, with Oliver Glasner also planning to rest players later this week.
With a £59M star wanting out, does this rotation prove City's squad depth or reveal growing player dissatisfaction?
Is Guardiola's title-race gamble a masterstroke for a domestic double or the mistake that hands Arsenal the league title?