Why was Kevin De Bruyne left on Man City bench? Pep Guardiola admits star midfielder 'didn't feel comfortable' to feature against Brentford

The star midfielder was an unused substitute in Manchester City's narrow 1-0 win over Brentford on Tuesday in the Premier League - with Erling Haaland's 71st-minute strike proving to be the difference between the two sides. After the match, Guardiola explained that De Bruyne had a niggle in his hamstring and was rested in the midweek clash as a precautionary measure.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, the Cityzens boss said: "He has niggles in his hamstring area and I didn't want to take any risk with him. He's OK, he's OK, it was more about prevention. He said he didn't feel comfortable and the doctors said not to take a risk."

The 32-year-old missed the first half of the season after suffering a hamstring injury during City's Premier League opener against Burnley in August. He returned to action in the new year in an FA Cup third-round clash against Huddersfield. Since coming back from his injury, the Belgian has provided four assists in the five Premier League games he has played.

With the win over The Bees, the reigning champions reduced the gap to current league leaders Liverpool to just a single a point. City will next face Bournemouth on Saturday, and a win will take them back to the summit with Liverpool set to be busy on Carabao Cup final duty.