Ronald Koeman revealed that Matthijs de Ligt's substitution was made to protect him during the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Germany in the Nations League.
Tijjani Reijnders had given the Netherlands the lead in the second minute, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to hand the visitors the advantage at the break.
For Germany's equaliser, Manchester United defender De Ligt saw his pass under no pressure intercepted by Jamal Musiala, resulting in Undav levelling the scores.
Koeman had previously addressed De Ligt's errors during the Netherlands' 5-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last week and had to do so once again on Tuesday.
"Of course, I would rather have kept Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch. It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished," said Koeman.
"I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off."
However, Liverpool captain and defensive partner Virgil van Dijk was more blunt in his assessment, saying the punishment is bound to follow against the top sides.
"This is football. You have to learn from this," Van Dijk said. "It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it."
But at the top end of the pitch, Koeman was impressed with the performance of Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, who was given the chance to shine in place of the absent Memphis Depay.
Brobbey, who made only his second start for his country against Germany, proved a handful for the visitors' defence, notching the assist for Denzel Dumfries' equaliser, with his five touches in the opposition box a total only bettered by Cody Gakpo (seven).
The Dutchman's display forced Julian Nagelsmann into making a defensive substitution of his own at the break, replacing Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah for Borussia Dortmund new boy Waldemar Anton.
"Tah was not substituted for nothing," said Koeman. "He pulled Brobbey’s shirt five times and committed a foul each time. Brobbey held him off very well.
"The second goal also came from Brobbey. I am super satisfied with him. He got his chance, and it was great that he took it like that.
"I am glad I chose him. He is fast and strong."
There was cause for concern, however, for Manchester City defender Nathan Ake, who pulled up off the ball on the stroke of half-time and was replaced by Jurrien Timber.
Ake left the field on a stretcher and was visibly upset, with Koeman able to provide a brief update on the injury.
"It looks like a muscle injury for Nathan, though I am not certain," Koeman said.
Southgate in no hurry to return to football after England departure
Gareth Southgate says he is keeping an open mind about what comes next in his career but is in no hurry to rush back into football.
Southgate stepped down as England manager in July, shortly after England's second consecutive European Championship final defeat.
The 54-year-old was in charge of the Three Lions for eight years, leading the team through four major tournaments, while only Walter Winterbottom (139) and Alf Ramsey (113) managed more games for the national team than Southgate (102).
England are still searching for a new permanent manager, with interim head coach Lee Carsley impressing in his first two matches, leading the team to consecutive 2-0 wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland in the Nations League.
Southgate has been linked with a move to Manchester United as the pressure piles on Erik ten Hag and with a position at UEFA.
However, the former England manager says he is not expecting to step back into football any time soon.
"I've got lots of opportunities, I'm very open-minded to what's next," he told Sky News.
"That might be in football, that might be outside of football. I'm just going to take some time, refresh, recharge and go from there.
"I think at the moment people know that I need to get my energy back."
Southgate led England to their first major tournament final since 1966 at Euro 2020 and helped the team reach their first final on foreign soil in Germany over the summer.
England also became the first team in history to lose consecutive Euros finals, with Southgate the only manager to ever lose two such matches.
However, his 14 wins at major tournaments are the most of any manager in England's history, and he is proud of the work he did during his time in charge.
"I think it was probably the right time for change," he added.
"I don't think you can have regrets. We made decisions with the information we had at the time to try and produce a winning team. I gave the job everything I had.
"We raised expectations and that was important. We needed to put English football back on the map."
Emery hoping competitiveness translates into first home win
Unai Emery is hoping Aston Villa can channel their competitive spirit once more as they aim for a first home win of the season against Everton.
Villa have so far won both of their away matches against West Ham and Leicester City by a 2-1 scoreline, digging deep to get their six points on the board.
However, they struggled at home against Arsenal, losing 2-0 despite having more attempts and creating a higher expected goals tally.
And despite Everton's recent struggles, Emery expects them to have to fight for the three points when they face off at Villa Park.
"Every game is difficult, but we compete," Emery said. "We did against Arsenal as well. We compete really well.
"Competitive is what we want to be, but we always want to improve and try to perform quality and try to be very demanding in our analysis of ourselves, and I'm happy with how they respond on the pitch."
Meanwhile, Everton are yet to get a point on the board after they began their season with three consecutive defeats.
They currently prop up the table, having conceded 10 goals and scored just two.
New signing Tim Iroegbunam, who joined the Toffees from Villa in the transfer window, has played every minute of the campaign so far and is hopeful he can help to get the team back on track.
"Obviously, the couple of results we've had in the league so far have been disappointing but, from a personal point of view, I'm pleased with how it's been going," he said.
"I knew that if I did well in pre-season that I could have a chance to play straight away. The fact that it's happened for me is promising, but there's lots to do."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aston Villa – Jhon Duran
Despite only starting three Premier League games in his career, Jhon Duran has scored seven goals in the competition, with six of these coming as a substitute.
His average of 96 minutes per goal is the best of any Villa player to score 3+ times for the club in the Premier League.
Everton – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Dominic Calvert-Lewin has made 97 off-the-ball runs in the Premier League this season, the most of any player, with 44 of these being targeted, also a league-high.
The striker has either scored (five) or assisted (two) seven of the Toffees' last 12 league goals.
MATCH PREDICTION: ASTON VILLA WIN
Since their return to the Premier League in 2019, Villa have remained unbeaten in all 10 of their league meetings with Everton (W7 D3), keeping seven clean sheets and conceding just three goals in that run.
Following a run of 15 successive home league wins from March to December 2023, Villa have since won just four of their last 12 Premier League games at Villa Park (D4 L4), losing their only such match this season 0-2 to Arsenal. Only in 2013-14 have the Villans lost both of their first two home matches of a Premier League campaign.
Meanwhile, Everton have lost eight of their last 10 top-flight games that have immediately followed an international break (W1 D1), including all four such matches last season. Villa, meanwhile, have won each of their last five league matches immediately following an international break.
Everton, along with Southampton, are one of two sides to lose all three of their Premier League games so far this season. Only in 1926-27 (five) and 1958-59 (six) have the Toffees ever had a longer losing run from the beginning of a league campaign.
Dyche's men are currently on a torrid run, having lost each of their last four Premier League games; not since October 2005, under David Moyes, have the Toffees lost five in a row in the competition (a run of six).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Aston Villa – 58.6%
Draw – 21.5%
Everton – 19.8%
Guardiola backs 'incredible' Lewis to star as hectic schedule begins
Pep Guardiola backed Rico Lewis to play a starring role in Manchester City's quest for a fifth Premier League title after an impressive start to the new season.
Lewis, who has started every game for Guardiola this term, impressed in City's 3-1 win over West Ham ahead of the international break, while he also played the duration of England's win over Finland.
The 19-year-old has filled in for the absent Kyle Walker so far, and Guardiola is confident that his recent form will help the Citizens moving forward as the Champions League group phase kicks in.
"Absolute, absolutely [he's playing well]. Have you seen the minutes he played in the pocket? I said many times, Rico has one incredible ability that for many years, it was difficult to find," Guardiola said.
"Always he is free, always he is alone. When his mate has the ball, I don’t know what he does, but he's free.
"You can pass the ball to him, and not just in positions where it's comfortable, but in positions where the space is so tight, arriving in the third final.
"We all the players ready, because the schedule that comes from now on until the end of the season will be difficult.
"That's what I said. Pre-season is over today. It's over officially. The real season starts after the international break."
But standing in their way are a Brentford side brimming with confidence after comfortably dispatching Southampton 3-1 before the international break to register their best start to a Premier League season.
The Bees also arrive at the Etihad as the last team to beat Guardiola's men on home soil, with head coach Thomas Frank believing his players should take that confidence into their encounter with the reigning champions.
"The feeling after a win is always unbelievable," said Frank. "It's a combination of relief and happiness.
"We performed well and played a good game. We clearly deserved to win. We need to celebrate our wins for 24 hours because in the Premier League, it is so difficult to win."
"Our high press today was absolutely world-class. We were so aggressive, so well organised and the players were so committed."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Man City – Erling Haaland
Haaland has seven goals in the Premier League this season, the most ever by a player in a team's first three matches of a campaign in the competition.
The record in a team's first four matches in a Premier League season is eight goals by Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2011-12.
Brentford – Yoane Wissa
Wissa has started the season in fine form, netting in two of Brentford's three Premier League games so far this campaign, but he has found it difficult against the Citizens in the five matches he has played against them.
Of the teams Wissa has faced in the top flight, City are one of six sides alongside Man United, Brighton, Sheffield United, Watford and Norwich he has failed to score against.
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
Manchester City have won four of their six Premier League games against Brentford (L2), doing the double over them in both 2021-22 and 2023-24.
They have also won all three of their Premier League games this season. They have won each of their opening four matches of an English top-flight campaign on eight previous occasions (1903-04, 1912-13, 1961-62, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2023-24), which is already the most of any club.
The hosts have won each of their last 12 Premier League games, all by a margin of 2+ goals. Indeed, under Guardiola alone, the Citizens are responsible for six of the 16 runs of 12+ consecutive wins by any club in English top-flight history (38%).
However, Brentford remain the last side to win away to City in any competition, triumphing 2-1 in November 2022. The Citizens are unbeaten in 45 at the Etihad in all competitions since (W38 D7).
The Bees have won two of their three Premier League games this season (L1), their best start to a campaign in the competition. In the top-flight, only in 1946-47 have they ever won three of their opening four matches – but that was the only season they were relegated from this level.
But since the start of last season, Brentford have lost more Premier League away games (13) than any side currently in the competition. The Bees have also lost each of their last five away league games against sides that finished the previous season in the top four.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Man City – 82.3%
Draw –11%
Brentford – 6.7%
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