My defenders are too old – Guardiola admits after Manchester Derby

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has lamented his ageing full-backs ability to bomb down the flank all game, after their 0-0 draw with Manchester United on Thursday.

Guardiola started the game with Pablo Zabaleta, 32 and Aleksandar Kolarov, 31. His other options are Bacary Sagna, 34 and Gael Clichy, 31.

“I don’t like too much to go to the forwards today in attack, I like to attack in other ways,” Guardiola told Sky Sports.

“They are waiting for your mistake to punish you. They can play and have a lot quality but they defend so compact and wait to punish you behind your full-back, and we don’t have full-backs to go up and down, up and down, because all of them are 33, 34 years old, so I adapt with the quality of players.

“Last games we played with Jesus and we attack a lot with the full-back, but Pablo, Sagna, Kolarov and Clichy – all of them they are more than 33 years old and they don’t have the legs to go up and down. That’s why I prefer they play in other positions.”

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