EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ -- Pep Guardiola will not use a shortage of first team players in preseason as an excuse when Manchester City kick off their season in less than two weeks' time.
The City boss is still without 15 of the 16 players that went to the World Cup in the summer, with Portuguese international Bernardo Silva playing his first minutes in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the International Champions Cup.
Benjamin Mendy will join up on the next leg of the United States tour in Miami but the rest of his squad will start their preseason when they return to training in England on Monday and Guardiola says they need to adapt.
"I learned that when I was a little boy in Barcelona in the Academy, don't find excuses," he told a news conference. "We are happy as a club to have 16 players out and the most [of any club] with their national teams, that's a good sign for the club.
"We are going to adapt, it's a simple as that. We're going to see how many we have against Chelsea [in the Community Shield].and in what condition they will be, we will see.
"We are late, we know it, but if we play with this spirit, against amazing strikers and teams, they will never forget this and it will be so good for their futures."
Liverpool, who could be City's biggest rivals in the defence of their Premier League crown, were able to welcome back Mohamed Salah, Saido Mane and Georginio Wijnaldum for their first minutes for the win at the MetLife Stadium.
Guardiola fielded a young side, particularly in defence, and says they will have learnt a lot from coming up against such quality.
"It's incredible what we have done," he said. "For 75 minutes we are incredible against that team, playing in the final of the Champions League and those kind of amazing players we have I am so, so proud. I'm happy to be managers of those guys.
"We made 75 minutes incredible but the last 15 minutes we were so tired and there were some changes and of course their quality of the attacking players they deserved to score more goals at the end."
Aymeric Laporte is one senior player with the squad but he has yet to play any minutes because of a small injury, although he could be back for the final match of the ICC against Bayern Munich on Saturday.
"Laporte had a little problem on the second day in Manchester," Guardiola said. "He is now in almost perfect condition but we didn't want to take a risk today with this pitch because we need the players for the beginning of the season."