The Spanish tactician is concerned about potential burnout within his squad as they continue to compete on multiple trophy fronts Manchester City are in “big trouble” despite their progression in the Champions League, according to Pep Guardiola.
The Premier League champions are also on course to retain their domestic crown after holding second-placed Liverpool to a 2-2 draw last time out, and the two teams are due to meet again in the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend.
“Today we celebrate because it is the third time in Manchester City’s history we are in the Champions League semi-finals,” the City manager told BT Sport after the game.
“But we can’t forget we played three days ago, travelled, came here, have a lot of injuries now and I don’t know what will happen in the next weeks.
“We cannot play all the time and score four or five goals, we are human beings – we come from a difficult game against Liverpool. “We are in big trouble.”
Guardiola went on to insist that although Atletico were the better side in the second half at Wanda Metropolitano, City were superior over the two legs and deserved to make it through. The second leg was marred by an ugly brawl involving both teams in stoppage time, which spilled into the tunnel after the final whistle, with it reported that Guardiola had liquid thrown at him as he left the pitch. The Spaniard had no comment on the unsavoury scenes and preferred to focus on the importance of the victory, as he added:
“Everyone saw the action, but I have nothing to say.
“It is the champion of Spain and they played with energy and, in the second half, were better than us and we were lucky we didn’t concede. In the first half we had chances, overall we are in the semi-finals – it is well deserved.