Why Pep Guardiola didn't speak to Man City signing Abdukodir Khusanov after debut

Pep Guardiola hasn't spoken to Manchester City debutant Abdukodir Khusanov after his errors vs Chelsea - because the young Uzbekistan international cannot speak English.

Khusanov's poor header let Chelsea in for an opening goal after just two minutes on debut, and he earned a booking after shortly after. His first half performance showed flashes of promise but plenty of nerves and City fans began to applaud his completed passes to offer support.

Guardiola replaced Khusanov on 50 minutes after giving John Stones time to warm up after the interval, and explained he did not want to throw in Stones from the start ahead of the big Champions League fixture on Wednesday - when Khusanov will be ineligible.

Erling Haaland didn't name Khusanov and was speaking generally, but still described City's start as 'horrific', saying: "It is that early that it is almost like you start with minus one goal. This can happen but it is about keeping going. It is about that and trying to have piece of mind in your head. That's what matters."

"We started horrific. When we had the start like we did it is difficult but we played really well and we kept on going and kept on going."

And Guardiola insisted that the squad will rally around their young signing who arrived this week for £33.5m.

"He doesn't speak English so I didn't speak to him. He'll be fine," Guardiola told Sky Sports. "He only made one or two training sessions. I didn't want to push John returning from injury - with Wednesday's game.

"The players were together. That was massively important. Any player can make a mistake. The fans always support the new players. He's so young. He will learn.

"It is not easy for him. He trains once and then to play against Jackson and Cole and Madueke