Manchester City saw their unbeaten streak come to an end in midweek as they crashed out of the Carabao Cup.
Taking on Tottenham Hotspur away from home on Wednesday night for a place in the quarter-finals of the competition, City walked away with a 2-1 defeat on the night.
Pep Guardiola saw his side concede both goals in the opening 25 minutes of the game before Matheus Nunes halved the deficit just before the midway point of the match.
Despite missing out on potentially adding another trophy to their cabinet for the season, Jamie Redknapp claimed that Erling Haaland being an unused substitute suggested that City were not as eager to win the game as Spurs were.
However, another decision Guardiola made during the match ended up being heavily praised by one of the players in City’s starting XI on Wednesday.
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Nico O’Reilly hails Jahmai Simpson-Pusey after Man City debut
After seeing Jahmai Simpson-Pusey make his senior debut for City in the second half of their defeat at Tottenham, Nico O’Reilly shared his thoughts on the defender (via Man City).
He said: “He’s such a composed player on the ball and a solid defender. I’m really happy for him as well because he’s one of my close friends.”
Guardiola hailed Simpson-Pusey for ‘exceptional’ cameo
In the 74th minute on Wednesday night, Guardiola gave Simpson-Pusey his senior City debut by substituting him on for Nathan Ake.
During his cameo, the 18-year-old had 29 touches of the ball, completing 24 of the 27 passes he attempted as well as making two clearances and winning the two aerial duels he was involved in.
After the match, the City boss gave this assessment of the teenager’s efforts.
He said: “This competition is very good to give players this chance. Jahmai was exceptional at centre-half in the minutes he played.”
Now that Guardiola and O’Reilly have shared their praise for Simpson-Pusey, this showcases how highly regarded he is in the senior squad.
Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see if the centre-back gets given any other chances to play in the first team throughout the remainder of the season, especially given the number of injured players City have at the moment.
