Pep Guardiola said that the tender age of his new centre back pairing makes no difference to him.
The Manchester City boss threw 17-year-old Taylor Harwood-Bellis and 18-year-old Eric Garcia into the Carabao Cup fray against Championship high-flyers Preston and was rewarded with a clean sheet in a 3-0 win.
And the teenagers, who have played together many times at under-23 level, remain an option for the boss, with Aymeric Laporte and John Stones injured.
Asked if he was worried that the two youngsters might be a little too green to be played together, he replied: “Do you see me concerned? I trust them.
“We'd prefer John and Aymer here but this is why we have the academy. These two guys are captains of their national teams.”
Guardiola took Harwood-Bellis on the pre-season tour to the Far East after Garcia was injured, and he was short of central defenders.
And the Stockport lad seized his chance with some impressive displays.
“I saw Taylor in China and I said 'Wow, that guy has a good thing'. He had a lot of quality.
“The leadership from Eric is really good. We see it every day in the training sessions. It is no problem to play with them.”
Laporte is out until 2020 after knee surgery but Stones is on course to return soon, as Guardiola revealed: “John will be back after the international break but we can count on them (Garcia and Harwood-Bellis) when we need them.”
