Manchester City's loss against Shakhtar will only spur them on

Reflecting back on Manchester City's 2-1 defeat away against Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk in midweek, one would be forgiven for thinking that the wheels are gradually coming apart.

But nothing would be further from the truth. Plenty of people have been critical of Pep Guardiola and his entertaining side and are undoubtedly happy about their most recent result, suggesting it will be a downhill slide from here.

My assertions are based on the attacking football deployed by Pep. He has set his side up in a way which allows them to dismantle teams, while grinding out narrow wins when facing ultra defensive-minded sides.

Pep Guardiola

City under Guardiola this season have played football, the likes of which have never been seen in England; sweeping like a tsunami, wrecking havoc on all who stand in their way. The first team to thwart and emerge victorious over them this season is Shakhtar themselves, who managed a narrow victory against a less than full-strength side.

Their last three matches saw them grind out slender victories, which was partly down to the defensive style and time-wasting tactics that sides have utilised to try and frustrate them into making more mistakes.

Wednesday's away fixture was an opportunity to give valuable minutes to the likes of Yaya Touré, Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva while talented youngsters including Tosin Adarabioyo, Phil Foden and Brahim Diaz also featured.

Foden (centre, in sky blue) became the youngest player (17yrs, 192 days) to start a Champions League match for an English club since Fabregas for Arsenal in 2004. Picture source: Genya Savilov / AFP

These youngsters are the future of the club and playing in a major competition like the Champions League will ultimately go a long way in aiding their development.

Guardiola had one eye on this weekend's Manchester derby when setting up his line-up, preferring to rest key players including Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Otamendi, Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva and Vincent Kompany.

Manchester City v West Ham United - Premier League

City have seven matches to play this December and as a result, we will see Guardiola rotate his matchday squad accordingly - doing so with the purpose of avoiding injuries to key players where possible.

With Benjamin Mendy sidelined until April, John Stones hoping to return before Christmas as well as a fragile Kompany, Pep needs to man-manage his important players.

He'll be hoping that despite playing a weakened side, the result serves as a timely warning that they are not unbeatable and instead, helps spur the side on to further victories on all fronts as competition intensifies.

Manchester United v Manchester City - Premier League

Come Sunday afternoon, neither a win nor defeat will stop City from potentially being crowned Premier League champions in May. A victory would see the sky Blues' league lead increase into double figures, whilst cranking up the pressure on their rivals who are all playing catch-up after slow starts to the 2017/18 campaign.