Pep Guardiola has admitted his behaviour regarding one Manchester City star this season has been 'so unfair'.
Guardiola, ranked at no.5 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest managers ever, has suffered a difficult campaign as City boss, with the FA Cup the only remaining piece of silverware for his side left to win.
The decline of Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, mixed with the poor form of Phil Foden, has meant that chopping and changing his starting XI has been much more difficult on players who perhaps do not deserve it.
Pep Guardiola pulls up his own own behaviour regarding one Manchester City player
With plenty of change expected, City are still waiting to hear back on the impending decision regarding their alleged 115 breaches of the Premier League's Financial Fair Play rules.
Despite that, the Cityzens opted to spend big in January by bringing in the likes of Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez and Abdukodir Khusanov, but which player has been subject to tough love by Pep?
Guardiola has often chosen a structure that prioritises defensive strength and midfielders who are adept at holding onto the ball and making a constant stream, as of late, which means the need for natural wide players has dwindled.
Mateo Kovacic's inclusion is no surprise, with youngster Nico O'Reilly also benefitting from an increase in first-team minutes, but that has meant both Jeremy Doku and Savinho haven't featured as freely.
"I've been so unfair with him in the last games, because I remember the games against Spurs away and Brighton, for example," Guardiola admitted when asked about Doku in particular.
"Without him it would not be possible, but the only reason that they have not played lately is because we didn't attack in the last games, with wingers - we were more full-backs wide, and more players in the middle like Bournemouth.
"But it's only my reason. I feel sorry for him and for other ones. "But today [Saturday] the impact has been much, much better than Old Trafford. Old Trafford was not good, and here the impact was, you know, how the ball dropped the team, and his threat, arriving to the byline.
"Jeremy in the final third is unstoppable, he's an incredible, incredible football player, and I'm really pleased that today he played really good."
In FourFourTwo's view, Doku is a wonderful player who, as we have already seen, is able to dictate games in wide areas simply with one drop of the shoulder. But with City having to tighten up defensively, the need for more risk drops and therefore his opportunities have subsequently suffered.
Manchester City are back in Premier League action on Tuesday as they take on Aston Villa.
