Pep Guardiola underlined that Toure is not part of his plans by leaving the 33-year-old Ivory Coast worldwide out of his squad that travelled for last night’s Champions League play-off first leg against Steaua Bucharest.
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Pep Guardiola has admitted he did not feel Yaya Toure could deliver the intensity required for Manchester City’s start to the season.
It is City’s first European game under Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice during his time at Barcelona.
Manchester City would be without new-signing Leroy Sané, who remains injured, while Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala have been left out. They are players for another club.
Steaua Bucharest defeated Sparta Praha 3-1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round. Everyone is starting to understand it but you see sometimes that one is thinking, ‘Where should I run?’?It’s good.
But three games in a week, when the team is still under-cooked might not be flawless, especially as the last one is down at Stoke on Saturday lunchtime.
Willy Cabellero of Manchester City (L) and Joe Hart of Manchester City (R) warm up prior to kick off during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Sunderland at Etihad Stadium on August 13, 2016 in Manchester, England.
“I think, though I could be wrong, that some players are going to come in and I think that also some are going to leave”.
“We travelled with two young guys and for the selection I prefer it to be the young guys than Yaya Toure”, Guardiola said. “I know there are so many rumours in the mill and you like to play that game, but I don’t”. “I know perfectly his quality, he knows the reason why he was not on the list, because I speak with the players to say the reason why, and I know they’re so professional”. The Ivorian did not make the squad against Sunderland on Saturday and also didn’t travel to Bucharest for the club’s Champions League qualifier.
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“The intention is to play from the back and then scroll it to me and David, so we can be five against four, but Sunderland stuck against us a bit”.
