Pep Guardiola has admitted he will 'always regret' not giving more playing time to Manchester City's homegrown talents this season, after academy graduate Nico O'Reilly turned the FA Cup quarter-final against Bournemouth on its head. City trailed 1-0 at half-time before the 20-year-old came on and provided two assists to send his side to Wembley.
Guardiola praised O'Reilly's performance and those of other young players like James McAtee and Rico Lewis, noting that academy players often lack fear and adapt quickly. 'Always I will regret a bit myself because there are players who deserved more minutes because when they played the impact was really good,' he said.
The City boss acknowledged that he may have been overly protective of the youngsters during a difficult season, but questioned whether that was the right approach. 'Maybe it's wrong, because the young players know the environment and the style and that's why it's easy,' he added.
Guardiola also pointed to his own decision-making as a factor in City's struggles, saying he put himself 'first on the list' of reasons for the team's inconsistent form. He cited a long list of injuries and admitted he was unable to find a solution to bounce back quickly.
Despite the comeback win, Guardiola hopes the performance against Bournemouth can mark a turning point for the remainder of the season. 'Hopefully until the end we can change and learn from that and prepare for next season,' he said.
