This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
On Sunday, Manchester City secured their first piece of silverware of the season by defeating Liverpool in the Community Shield at Wembley.
However, the City team that took to the pitch did not include Riyad Mahrez, the Algeria winger who had been keen to feature at Wembley after helping his country win the Africa Cup of Nations.
According to Pep Guardiola, the City boss, Mahrez was left out of the squad due to concerns that he would fail a drugs test after taking medication during his time on international duty.
Guardiola explained that the club's medical staff were unable to determine the ingredients of the medication, and therefore did not want to risk Mahrez falling foul of anti-doping rules.
“Riyad called me straight after being champion and said he wants to be back against Liverpool,” said Guardiola after the victory.
“I said he was more than welcome. But Riyad took some medicine just a little bit, but we don't know what he took and therefore doping control today was a risk because the doctors did not know what was in the medicine,” Guardiola added.
City beat Liverpool on penalties to secure the club's first piece of silverware of the season at Wembley.
