Pep Guardiola’s rotation proves costly as Manchester City bow out of Carabao Cup

Manchester City have not been at their indomitable best in the Premier League this season, but if there’s one competition they’ve made their own, it’s surely the Carabao Cup.

Since becoming manager of the Cityzens, Pep Guardiola has led them to four League Cup titles and will become the first coach to win the competition five times should he lead the club to another.

However, such a record will have to wait until at least next year after Manchester City were humbled by Southampton on Wednesday evening at St. Mary’s. First-half goals from Sekou Mara and Moussa Djenepo were enough for the hosts to book their place in the semi-finals of the competition.

Even better for the Saints, this victory could spark a turnaround in their season following a poor campaign thus far that has seen them slump to the bottom of the Premier League.

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Flat Manchester City exit Carabao Cup

Manchester City’s quality means they almost always start games as huge favorites and that was the case when they traveled to the south coast.

However, they were handed a reality check after failing to rise to the occasion. The thing about professional football is that, no matter how good a team is, they still have to earn their wins.

On Wednesday, though, the Cityzens failed to do so after making a poor start to the game and abandoning everything that made them so successful.

Southampton looked better prepared and better motivated from the start of the match, while Guardiola’s side were unsurprisingly reactive for large spells.

Manchester City just couldn’t handle the intensity of their opponents and were flat, culminating in zero shots on target for 90 minutes. Any team that plays like that certainly deserves nothing and City are no exception despite their reputation.

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Manchester City pay the price for Guardiola’s rotation

With back-to-back cup games coming before Manchester City’s crucial clash against neighbors Manchester United on Saturday, Guardiola was always going to rotate his squad.

However, the Spaniard’s line-up against Southampton suggests he may have underrated the Saints. While Guardiola also rotated his selection against Chelsea in last Sunday’s FA Cup game, he still picked a strong line-up.

Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez, Kyle Walker and Julian Alvarez all started, with the only peripheral figures being goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, left-back Sergio Gomez and Cole Palmer.

Guardiola, though, over-tinkered with his line-up for the Southampton game, drafting Walker at center-back and handing a start to Kalvin Phillips, who has neither played much nor been in form.

"If we perform in this way, we don't have a chance. The better team won. We didn't play good, we didn't play well in the beginning. There are many games you can start not good and overcome and we didn't do it,” Guardiola admitted after the game, as quoted by The Mirror.

He added:

"When you are not prepared to play this game you arrive one inch late and don't score a goal. When you are prepared you score the goal. Today was a bad night, the opponent was better so we have to congratulate them. To win games you have to deserve it and tonight we didn't deserve it."

City ultimately paid the price for Guardiola’s over-tinkering with his starting line-up and it provided a lesson in not underrating an opponent, even if they are the bottom-placed team in the Premier League.