Manchester City were forced to sell Douglas Luiz, implies Pep Guardiola

Since the move, the Brazilian has done relatively well and in the build up to the clash, Pep Guardiola went on to talk about the move and how different it would have been if Luiz managed to get a work permit. The Spaniard further added that he believed that the Brazilian would have made a great impact last season especially with injuries to Fernandinho. 

"He would be here if a work permit were possible if the Premier League said it would be possible but now he is at Aston Villa. We have an option to get him back but sometimes life is like this. We wanted him because last season we had problems in that position because we didn’t buy a holding midfielder," said Guardiola to Manchester Evening news.

"We wanted him before so we thought about it but the rules with the work permit meant it was not possible. I thought he would be here with the pre-season he played last year in the States, he was really good.  I think he had the quality to play with us but he could not do it. The talent is always there, we’ll see at the end of the season what his level is but the quality is always there," concluded the former Barcelona manager.