Manchester City’s final match of the Premier League season wasn’t particularly memorable, although it was a special occasion for several City youngsters.
City brought an end to a third consecutive title-winning season with an underwhelming 1-0 defeat to Brentford.
The loss brought an end to City’s 25-match unbeaten run and denied them a 90+ points tally, but in truth, the final result was not high on Pep Guardiola’s list of priorities.
Having secured the title last weekend, Guardiola used City’s final three league outings to rest key players ahead of the upcoming FA Cup and Champions League finals.
In an ideal world, he would have fielded a near full-strength team on the final day in order to maintain his players’ momentum.
As it was, injuries to Kevin de Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Manuel Akanji and Jack Grealish forced Guardiola to incorporate a number of academy players into his matchday squad.
Shea Charles, Alex Robertson and Ben Knight were all named on the bench, while academy graduates Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Rico Lewis all played the full 90 minutes.
19-year-old Charles – a versatile player who can operate both in midfield and defence – made his senior City debut when he replaced Nathan Ake in the second half.
Speaking after the match, Charles explained the importance of Guardiola giving minutes to youngsters like himself.
“It’s a very proud moment. I’m a City fan growing up so it’s a dream come true,” Charles said.
“A great experience in that game to make my debut. It gives us all confidence in the younger age groups that Pep is giving us these chances.
“To see four City academy graduates on the pitch and a couple of us on the bench, it’s great to see.
“I’m sure all the others can get confidence from that. He [Guardiola] was just giving me the confidence I needed to go and perform as well as I can.
“I feel like I settled into the game well after a few minutes. It’s similar to what we do at academy level and I’ve come all the way through.”
Charles will hope to follow in the footsteps of Lewis, who this season became the latest City youth product to make the step up to the first team.
