Man City 1 - 3 Fulham: Hughes defends decision to rest Robinho as fans vent anger at latest defeat

Published on Sunday 12 April 2009 22:44

MANCHESTER City manager Mark Hughes defended his decision to leave Robinho on the bench after his side slumped to a dismal home defeat against Fulham yesterday afternoon.

Stephen Ireland had given the Blues a half-time advantage when his long-range, dipping effort deflected off John Pantsil and beyond Mark Schwarzer. But, just as they did in the corresponding fixture 12 months ago, Fulham turned the match on its head.

Clint Dempsey levelled five minutes after the break when he latched on to a loose ball – Micah Richards had jumped in to tackle Bobby Zamora – and expertly curled home. Then City old-boy Dickson Etuhu volleyed Roy Hodgson's side in front with an hour played.

Even after Robinho's 63rd-minute introduction, Fulham continued to dominate and it was no surprise when Dempsey wrapped up the win near the end, finishing off a sweet counter-attack after converting Zamora's square pass.

The City supporters vented their frustration at the final whistle after earlier chanting, "You don't know what you are doing" at Hughes when he introduced Ched Evans for Valeri Bojinov, while Robinho remained on the bench.

But the Blues manager felt he had no other option given Robinho has been involved almost constantly since his 32.5million arrival from Real Madrid on transfer deadline day last summer.

"People make comments but I am trying to protect the players," said Hughes. "I know the fitness levels of each one. So when people make comments maybe they are being a bit too simplistic. Robinho has had a great first season but he has been among those responsible for carrying the vast majority of the workload, and it was my first opportunity to give him a break."

Robinho will return for Thursday's Uefa Cup quarter-final second leg with Hamburg, when City will be trying to overturn a 3-1 first-leg deficit.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge and Vincent Kompany, who all missed out yesterday, should be involved as well, although not striker Craig Bellamy, who will have a scan on the knee injury he suffered against the German club after the Easter weekend.

"We have been fighting on two fronts, in the Premier League and in Europe. Maybe today is when it caught up with us," reflected Hughes. "I needed to get some energy into the side and hopefully we will be in better shape for Thursday, which is a key game for us."