Man City boss Pep Guardiola questioned the inconsistent cup rules in Englandplaceholder image
Man City boss Pep Guardiola questioned the inconsistent cup rules in England | Getty Images
Manchester City defeated Salford City in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday afternoon.
Pep Guardiola questioned the inconsistent rules of the English cup competitions after Man City defeated Salford City in the FA Cup fourth round.
The Blues produced a laboured performance as they progressed to the next round of the competition after an early own goal was followed by a late strike from Marc Guehi. City struggled to breakdown the resilient League Two side and had to turn to their bench to ensure they went on to win the match.
January signings Antoine Semenyo and Guehi both made positive contributions to help City get over the line, as the latter netted his first goal for the club to seal the win. Guehi was ineligible to feature for City in their Carabao Cup semi-final win over Newcastle last week but was allowed to feature for them in the FA Cup.
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Guardiola questions inconsistent cup rules
Man City were allowed to call upon Marc Guehi for their FA Cup triumph over Salford City, despite the fact he is also ineligible to feature for them in the Carabao Cup. EFL Cup rules state a player can not feature for another club if he transfers after the semi-final first leg has been played, which also means he will not be allowed to feature against Arsenal in the final next month.
However, the 25-year-old was allowed to play for City in the FA Cup fourth round, despite the fact he played for Crystal Palace when they were knocked out by Macclesfield in the FA Cup third round last month.
Pep Guardiola was delighted to reach the next round of the cup competition, but criticised the lack of 'common sense' that sees different rules applied between the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
"For example, he cannot play in the final of the Carabao Cup," he told BBC Sport. "Why can he play here and why not in the other one? Common sense [it] is not but it's OK.
Guardiola added: "They defended really well, so tight and we didn't attack the spaces the way we should. The game was flat until they scored the second goal. Until 2-0, the game was not good.
"You can go 1-0 and play magnificently. Sometimes you can win 3-0 and the game is not good. It's better for that [Marc Guehi goal]. It has been a really tough three weeks with a lot of games and it's demanding. Today was the last game and now we have a mini break.
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