Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola fears his side will face exhaustion as they bid to win multiple silverware. In order to advance to the Champions League semifinals against Real Madrid, City defeated Bayern Munich 4-1 on aggregate. In the Premier League, Guardiola’s club is four points behind Arsenal, but they have a game in hand because they play Sheffield United in the FA Cup semifinals on Saturday. If City wants to win the treble and advance to both major finals, they will need to play 13 more games this season.
“We are totally worn out. I’m unsure of our ability to bounce back in time to play Sheffield United [in the FA Cup semi-final]. The Saturday game is reaching a turning point,” Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said. “Semifinals of the Champions League for three years running. We struggled during the first period. All of our left-side lines were destroyed by Upamecano, and we battled Coman. They had one or two chances before the penalty miss, and anything could have happened, but we defended wonderfully. The conclusion of Erling was amazing. He is still quite a child. In this league, we have a lot of expertise, and the players are very competitive. The second half has greatly improved from minute one.”
Erling Haaland’s composed goal in the 57th minute all but assured City, who had a 3-0 lead from the first leg, that they would go to the semifinals for the third consecutive season. The severity of defender Nathan Ake’s hamstring injury, which caused him to exit the game in the second half, will be Guardiola’s only other worry.
“The final score of 4-1, in my opinion, does not fairly represent the two games. Given how wonderful everything about them is—the physicality, the concepts, everything—I couldn’t have anticipated anything less,” he added. “Both when I lived with Bayern Munich and when I play against them, I am consistently amazed. From the beginning, we always felt in control of the situation. It’s fantastic that we have advanced to three Champions League semifinals.”
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