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Guardiola backs Khusanov to learn from nightmare Man City debut / Photo: © AFP
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Guardiola backs Khusanov to learn from nightmare Man City debut
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola praised the reaction of Abdukodir Khusanov's team-mates to lift the young Uzbek after a nightmare introduction to the Premier League in Saturday's 3-1 win over Chelsea.
The 20-year-old, who joined from Lens for a reported £34 million ($42 million) this week, gifted Chelsea the opening goal, scored by Noni Madueke, with a poor header after just three minutes.
Khusanov was then booked and lucky to avoid a red card for chopping down Cole Palmer before he was replaced early in the second half by John Stones.
But he was warmly embraced by Guardiola and his fellow players on the bench and supported by the City fans as he trudged off the pitch.
"I thought 'not the best start'," said Guardiola on his reaction to the opening minutes.
"But dealing with (Nicolas) Jackson, with Cole, with all these incredible players, it's not easy, and I loved the reaction of his mates."
Guardiola accepted his own responsibility for throwing Khusanov straight into the heart of the action due to his injury crisis in defence.
Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias were again missing, while Stones' minutes were managed ahead of Wednesday's crucial Champions League clash against Club Brugge.
"I have to learn Russian or Uzbek to communicate with him because he doesn't speak English fluently. But listen, in this kind of situation, there's nothing much to say. He knows he made a mistake," Guardiola said.
"What can I say? 'Don't do a mistake'. He doesn't want to do it. We know that. The reaction in the match was amazing.
"I made the substitution for John, mainly for the yellow card. Not just for the mistake. Especially, I need John for Wednesday."
- 'Final' -
City's other new signing Omar Marmoush had a far more impressive debut as the English champions bounced back thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden to leapfrog Chelsea into fourth in the Premier League.
However, neither Khusanov or Marmoush are eligible to play against Brugge, a match which Guardiola described as a "final".
Anything other than victory against the Belgian champions will see City crash out before the knockout stages.
"After (conceding the goal), emotionally, we came back," he said.
"It's really, really important for our final Wednesday and for the next games, of course, in the Premier League."
A month ago Chelsea looked nailed on to return to the Champions League next season.
But a run of one win in seven league games has seen Enzo Maresca's men slip to sixth in the table.
Not for the first time, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez made a crucial mistake with the game in the balance at 1-1.
The Spaniard rushed needlessly off his line to try and intercept a long ball forward to Haaland and was caught in no man's land as the Norwegian chipped the ball into an empty net.
It was the fifth error leading to a goal by Sanchez this season - the most of any player in the Premier League.
"We trust Robert for sure but in the same moment he is aware that he is making mistakes," said Maresca.
"I think the second goal changed the mood. They have players that in any moment they can change the game."
Y.Harris--SFF
