Manuel Akanji picked up the first red card of his Manchester City career in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton in the Premier League.
The Switzerland international was given his marching orders by Rob Jones in stoppage time after receiving two yellow cards against the Seagulls.
Despite that, Manuel Akanji can actually feature in Manchester City‘s next game…
What’s the story?
Well, the Manchester City No.25 does not have to serve his one-match ban until Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford for the Manchester derby.
Akanji is actually eligible to feature for Manchester City in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League clash against BSC Young Boys despite his red card against Brighton, as his dismissal came in domestic action.
Therefore, the 28-year-old is still free to play in UEFA competitions.
It works both ways – had Akanji been sent off in a UEFA Champions League game, he still would have been allowed to partake in Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup clashes.
A similar situation happened recently with Rodri.
Despite the Spain international receiving a straight red card in the 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest, he was able to return a game early and play in the 3-1 victory over RB Leipzig.
Guardiola now has a major decision to make with Akanji at Manchester City
Wednesday’s trip to Switzerland now poses a bit of a headache for Pep Guardiola.
The Spaniard will – of course – be without Akanji for Sunday’s derby, so he must now decide whether to use a new defensive partnership against BSC Young Boys in preparation for the trip to Old Trafford, or start the Switzerland international and rest whoever is in line to play on Sunday.
Choosing the latter option risks Akanji’s replacement coming into the Manchester derby unprepared, so Guardiola has a lot to think about when it comes to his backline.
