Manchester City spent heavily on the new in January but kept faith with the old in midweek.

Pep Guardiola opted not to include any of his new signings in the side to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night. The City chief put his faith in fit-again defenders and experienced midfielders.

For large parts of the game City acquitted themselves well but as the contest wore on their control waned and another late collapse means an uphill task in Spain next week.

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It’s hard to argue against John Stones in the holding midfield role given he played well in that position until injury forced him to retreat into defence, while Jack Grealish had started brightly before his night was curtailed.

And in defeat Guardiola may have been damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. Starting the tried and trusted led to dissenting questions around the selection, putting faith in relative inexperienced new arrivals could have prompted the same response to a different XI.

What should be clear from the Madrid defeat is that City and Guardiola need to change. A new goalkeeper and right back should be the top transfer targets in the summer.

Between now and then, City must blood their new faces. The argument for sparing them Madrid is valid, but Abdukodir Khusanov was thrown in against Chelsea and Nico Gonzalez thrust into the XI at Leyton Orient after one training session.

For City to hit the ground running next term they’ll need those two and Omar Marmoush to be capable Premier League performers. Whatever happens with summer recruitment, the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Mateo Kovacic and Stones cannot be relied upon week after week after week through either form, fitness or a combination of both.

Khusanov, Gonzalez and Marmoush cost more than £120million. They may well be for the future, but the time is now.