Guardiola defends Zack Steffen after mistake against Liverpool costs City

Pep Guardiola defended his team selection and stand-in goalkeeper Zack Steffen following a dreadful first-half display that ruined Manchester City’s Treble chances in the FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool.

Liverpool led 3-0 at the break, courtesy of a first-half performance that Jürgen Klopp labelled the best of his reign plus a calamitous error by Steffen, who dithered on John Stones’s back pass and allowed Sadio Mané to score with a tackle.

Related: Liverpool survive Manchester City scare to reach FA Cup final after Mané double

The US international was one of seven changes Guardiola made from the team that started Wednesday’s bruising Champions League quarter-final at Atlético Madrid. He was adamant there was no alternative in the midst of a gruelling schedule and pursuit of the Premier League title.

The City manager insisted: “We had a lot of fixtures and travels and a lot of important games and that’s why I picked the team. The first goal was a set-piece, where Liverpool are so strong and score many goals, and the second was an accident. Then we conceded a goal in the last minute of the first half, but afterwards we showed incredible pride. We didn’t look tired after we scored because football is about momentum. We had the most clear chances and we scored goals. It is not easy to do that against Liverpool. We fought to the end and showed our pride.”

Guardiola confirmed Rodri and Riyad Mahrez were fit to play at Wembley but his other changes from Madrid, including Kevin De Bruyne, all had fitness problems. He added: “Rúben [Dias] has had seven weeks off, Kyle [Walker] couldn’t play and [Ilkay] Gündogan had a knock on the knee. It is what it is when you play a lot of games. When everyone is fit we are okay, but to