Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed a concern regarding the fitness of one of his mainstay central defenders, following the win over Chelsea on Wednesday night.
The Premier League champions got their 2022/23 Carabao Cup campaign underway this week with a testing face-off against Graham Potter's men at the Etihad Stadium.
While both sides made considerable changes to their respective starting line-ups, the match certainly held a strong competitive edge.
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Manchester City were largely the better of the two sides, but still had to call on their back-up goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to make several crucial saves across the 90 minutes, in a man of the match performance from the German.
It was Riyad Mahrez who ultimately broke the deadlock for the hosts in the second-half however, with the Algeria international firing home from a direct free-kick.
That strike was followed up by a Julian Alvarez effort from close range, with the Argentine striker now becoming the only player in Pep Guardiola's squad to have scored in all four competitions City have featured in so far this season.
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The night also saw a return to match action for Kalvin Phillips, who has now completed his recovery from shoulder surgery undertaken last month.
The England international is now likely to be selected for Gareth Southgate's 26-man England squad this week, ahead of the start of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this month.
However, the match did not go without any further concern for Pep Guardiola, who revealed after the 2-0 win over Chelsea that one player was substituted off due to an injury concern.
That player is Aymeric Laporte, who has impressed since returning from knee surgery during the earlier stages of the ongoing domestic season.
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Speaking to broadcast media at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night, Pep Guardiola said, "I think he (Aymeric Laporte) is ok.
"But in the last minutes, he had some discomfort.
"For precaution, we made the substitution."
Pep Guardiola is likely to get a better understanding of the situation concerning the Spain international defender later this week.
The Manchester City boss is also due to speak in a pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon, ahead of the club's final top-flight match before the international break for the World Cup.
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City host Brentford at the Etihad Stadium, hoping to remain within touching distance of league leaders Arsenal, or leapfrog Mikel Arteta's side for the festive period.
Featured Image Credit: Sportimage / AlamyTopics: Aymeric Laporte, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Chelsea, Carabao Cup, Premier League, Football
