Manchester City news: Pep Guardiola defends decision to drop Joe Hart for 'in-form' Willy Caballero

The Argentine goalkeeper started ahead of Hart in City's 2-1 victory against Sunderland

Guardiola pitch-side during City's opener against Sunderland (Getty)

Pep Guardiola defended his decision to drop Joe Hart, arguing that his deputy, Willy Caballero, had shown him more in pre-season.

Dropping the England number one, was Guardiola said, proof that he was not afraid to take big decisions early on in his tenure as Manchester City manager. Caballero had a mixed evening in City’s 2-1 win over Sunderland that was decided by a late Paddy McNair own-goal.

Asked why he chose the 34-year-old Argentine, who had not started for City since early April, Guardiola said: “I think he had a good pre-season, he gave me a lot of confidence, he has personality and that is why I chose him.

“I am the guy who takes the decision and I am not afraid of that,” said Guardiola who was unable to find a place in his matchday squad for Yaya Toure, Eliaquim Mangala or Samir Nasri.

“It does not mean that Joe or Yaya or Mangala cannot play again. But today I needed a higher rhythm. I needed us to be aggressive without the ball. Willy had more training sessions than Joe. We spent a lot of time in training using the keeper in three-on-two situations or three-on-four. I have a lot of respect for Joe but on that I decided for Willy.”

On Monday, Manchester City travel to Romania for their Champions League qualifier against Steaua Bucharest. At Barcelona, Guardiola tended to employ one keeper for cup games and another for La Liga.

Asked if this pattern might continue in Manchester, he replied: “At Bayern Munich, Manuel Neuer always played.”

Guardiola smiled when asked what he had made of the Premier League after a single game. The victory over Sunderland had been far harder fought than many anticipated.

“I have realised how difficult it is,” he said. “You are not safe until the referee says: ‘go home’. There were long balls, free-kicks and balls thrown into the box. I can imagine what the last five minutes of an away game will be like.

“I was so happy with what I saw in the opening minutes but we did not attack when the situation was there for us to attack. I saw many things I did not expect to see but we deserved our victory.”