Pep Guardiola says XI vs Newcastle was picked on ‘behaviour, not rotation’

Grealish and Foden were both unused substitutes on Sunday

Pep Guardiola has revealed that his starting XI against Newcastle United at the weekend was picked on 'behaviour', as opposed to standard squad rotation. Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and John Stones all dropped to the bench for Sunday’s 4-0 win at St James’ Park, with Joao Cancelo, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling replacing them in the starting line-up. Defender Stones replaced Ruben Dias in the second-half, but Foden and Grealish were unused substitutes with Fernandinho and youngster Cole Palmer being brought on instead. Guardiola has since explained that his team selection was based on 'behaviour, not rotation'. City cruised to a comfortable victory against the Magpies thanks to goals from Dias, Cancelo, Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling. The victory - which was their 34^th in the league in 2021 - took them three points clear of title rivals Liverpool, who were held to a 2-2 draw at Tottenham. After setting a new record for the most top-flight wins by a team in a calendar year, Guardiola says it 'shows the consistency' City have as a team. He added: "Records show the consistency we have as a team, it is not winning titles or finals, but it is winning and winning," Guardiola said after the match.