Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini was not a happy man as he saw his side suffer a 4-2 defeat at Southampton.
Still chasing a Top Four finish, the Citizens are three points away from third-placed Arsenal with Manchester United five points away in fifth place but with a game in hand.
"I'm very frustrated because I didn't expect that performance - especially in defence," Pellegrini told BBC Sport.
"At least four of them [today's line-up] are not playing [regularly].
"I think we could've played on Saturday and named a stronger team. But in this case we had to prioritise Wednesday's game [against Real Madrid].
"The best way to prepare is to win but we couldn't do it."
