Pep reveals his players were not having a ball...

PEP Guardiola went spare at the football City used to beat Wolves in the Carabao Cup.

The Blues made it through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup but had to do it via a penalty shootout after neither team was able to score in 120 minutes.

City, having made nine changes, struggled to click but Guardiola suggested a different reason for his team struggling against their Championship opponents.

The game was played with the Mitre Delta EFL ball used in Football League matches rather than one the Blues are used to working with in other competitions.

According to the manager, none of the players could comprehend it.

“It is not acceptable, the ball was unacceptable for a high-level competition,” he said.

“It is too light, it moves all over the place, it is not a good ball.

“It is impossible to score with a ball like that and I can say that because we won, I’m not making excuses.

“All of my players said ‘what is that.’

“I’m sorry Carabao Cup but it is not a serious ball for a serious competition.

“It’s marketing, money, ok but it’s not acceptable, no weight, nothing.

“One day or two days [we had to train with it], but the ball is bad for one year or two years, it’s not acceptable. All the players complain.”

One player who did enjoy the evening was Claudio Bravo.

It has been a harrowing time for the Chilean at the Etihad since he moved from Barcelona to replace Joe Hart last summer.

Ederson has comprehensively claimed the No.1 jersey, leaving Bravo to spend most of the season on the bench.

The man with the reputation for making no saves stepped up when it mattered to take the game to extra time and penalties, and then excelled in the shootout.

Without him, Guardiola admitted his team would not have made it.

“Claudio gave us the chance to go through,” he said.

“I’m so happy for him, the way he trains.

“He deserved that performance and he helped us. Without him, we would not be in that next round.”