Fernando: Squad rotation not to blame for City’s FA Cup draw

Squad rotation has been the cause of many Premier League casualties from the FA Cup this season, but Fernando is adamant that is not the reason Manchester City were held by Huddersfield Town.

The Brazilian was among seven new faces that came into the side for the trip to the John Smith’s Stadium, with only John Stones, Aleksandar Kolarov, Sergio Aguero and Fernandinho retaining their places.

But Pep Guardiola’s side were unable to break through against resolute Championship opposition, with their 0-0 ensuring a replay will take place, presenting a difficult fixture backlog in the process.

But with the strength in depth the Citizens possess, Fernando believes their approach to the game was not solely based on 11 players.

(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“I don’t think that influenced us. We train every day and we listen to what our manager says,” he said.

“That didn’t affect us. Maybe some players didn’t get into the rhythm but we played well. Unfortunately we didn’t score.

“We had chances to score and of course we wanted to score and win. They played well and the result was difficult for us.

“We now must focus on the replay of this game.

“They played very well and knew [we] they were a good team. We watched their games and knew their qualities. They are third in the Championship so we knew they were going to be difficult.”