Pep Guardiola 'So Pleased' for Academy Trio Despite Man City Suffering Defeat in Ukraine

Pep Guardiola praised three young players who featured for Manchester City on Wednesday, with Phil Foden's first start for the Citizens proving to be a shining light in the club's first defeat of the season.

Foden, who won the Golden Ball at the Fifa U17 World Cup, started alongside Tosin Adarabioyo against Shakhtar Donetsk. 18-year-old Brahim Díaz also featured in Ukraine as a second-half substitute, proving to be one of City's most dangerous attacking threats.

"Congratulations to Shakhtar, it was a good game," Guardiola told BT Sport (via ESPN). "Their first goal was magnificent, and the second goal we didn't defend that well.

"We fought and I'm so pleased for Tosin, Phil and Brahim and how well they played against a good team like Shakhtar Donetsk.

"The people saw it, we came here to win and we were there until the end. We couldn't do it but I'm happy for the performance."

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When asked about how he fancied City's chances in the knockout stages of the Champions League, Guardiola insisted that he was keeping his eyes focused on Sunday's Manchester derby.

"In the Champions League on Monday we are going to talk about the draw," he added.

"It's how they arrive in the moment on that day. Maybe in February, we will be a disaster. It won't be easy.

"Now we are going to rest, and we're going to come back tomorrow to prepare for the game [on Sunday]."