Guardiola on Khusanov's debut: "Any player can make a mistake; he’s young and will learn"

After Manchester City’s 3-1 victory over Chelsea, Pep Guardiola was asked on Sky Sports about Abdulkodir Khusanov’s debut and his early mistake that led to a goal in the 3rd minute. The Spanish coach supported his young player.

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"He doesn’t speak English, so we haven’t been able to communicate directly yet. Perhaps I’ll have to learn Uzbek or Russian to talk to him. He’ll be fine. He has only participated in one or two training sessions so far. Considering the importance of the upcoming Champions League match, I didn’t want to risk playing John Stones after his injury.

Team unity is very important – we saw that today. Any player can make mistakes. Fans always support new players. He’s still very young, and he will definitely learn," said Guardiola on Sky Sports.

The Spanish coach also discussed Khusanov on BBC.

"It’s not easy for him. Understand that he had just one training session before playing against opponents like Jackson, Palmer, Madueke, and Sancho.

When we sign young players, we know that situations like this are part of the process. He will learn. Moments like these offer the best lessons," said Guardiola about Abdulkodir.

For context, Khusanov played until the 54th minute of the match and was substituted by Guardiola after receiving a yellow card.

Manchester City’s next match will be the final group-stage game of the Champions League against Club Brugge on January 29. Only a win will secure Manchester City's advancement to the next round.

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