"He doesn't speak English so I didn't speak to him" - Guardiola makes feelings clear on Abdukodir Khusanov after struggle on Manchester City debut

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has shared his thoughts on the debut display of defender Abdukodir Khusanov in the team's win over Chelsea. The Uzbekistan international made his first appearance for the Cityzens and appeared to struggle to get up to speed with the English game.

Guardiola chose to hand a full debut to Khusanov, a €40 million signing from Lens, as his side hosted Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium. The 20-year-old struggled and was taken off nine minutes into the second half. The Spanish manager spoke after the game about the reason behind his decision to start the youngster and backed him to find his feet at the club.

"He doesn't speak English so I didn't speak to him. He'll be fine. He only made one, two trainings. I didn't want to push John [Stones] returning from injury with Wednesday's game [vs Club Brugge].

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

"It's not easy for him. He trains once and then to play against [Nicolas] Jackson, Cole [Palmer], [Noni] Madueke, [Jadon] Sancho. It's a process when you buy a player this young. He'll learn. These kinds of actions are the best lesson you can take..."

Khusanov gave away the opener to Chelsea just two minutes into his debut, heading the ball back poorly and allowing Nicolas Jackson to set up Noni Madueke to score. He then committed a couple more errors before looking slightly more assured as the game wore on. He came off for John Stones in the 54th minute, and received an embrace of encouragement from Guardiola as well as handshakes from the Manchester City bench.

Manchester City secure impressive comeback win over Chelsea

Manchester City were in fine form as they overcame a shocking start to defeat Chelsea 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium. The Cityzens bounced back from their disappointing 4-2 defeat at PSG in the UEFA Champions League by picking up all three points at home.

Noni Madueke gave Chelsea the lead in the third minute as they capitalized on an error at the back from young Abdukodir Khusanov. Debutant Omar Marmoush thought he had scored his first Manchester City goal, only for the offside flag to deny him. There was no such denial for Josko Gvardiol in the 42nd minute as he drew his side level.

Manchester City went ahead for the first time when Erling Haaland took advantage of a moment of indecision from Robert Sanchez to score in the 68th minute. Their third goal came in the 92nd minute, as Haaland sent Phil Foden through to score for the Cityzens. They have leapfrogged Chelsea to move up to fourth in the standings after a fine performance.