Pep Guardiola has hit out at the scheduling of the March international break and his side’s FA Cup semi-final, but is resigned to fighting a losing battle.
Kyle Walker and John Stones picked up injuries on England duty which have ruled them out of Sunday’s vital clash with title rivals Arsenal and potentially further Premier League games against Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
The first leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid will be City’s fourth game in 10 days and Guardiola is also exasperated at being forced to play an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea just three days after the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Asked if the timing of the March international break needed rethinking, Guardiola said: “Sure, but they will not rethink. UEFA has its own business, the broadcasters have their own business.
“We play Wednesday against Madrid second leg here…Coventry, Manchester United, Chelsea, they are on holidays one week. Why are we playing Saturday? Why don’t they give us one more day?
“Coventry don’t play Champions League, Chelsea don’t play Champions League or Europa League, United don’t do it. The broadcasters pay a lot of money so we play Saturday.
“We will go to London to play Chelsea, Chelsea will not come here. We will travel five hours. We play quarter-finals [of the Champions League] many times the last years, Wednesday second leg and every time play Saturday. All the time.
“We’re lucky we’re playing at home [this time] but we’ve played in Dortmund, arrive Thursday afternoon here, on Friday take a train or plane to London and play Saturday against Liverpool or Chelsea and all the incredible teams. We are exhausted.
“We play Aston Villa at 8.15 [on Wednesday], we play 12.30 on Saturday [at Crystal Palace] and go to Madrid on Tuesday. Madrid have nine days to prepare for the game. They play this weekend and not again until our game.
“You ask me about the calendar, I give my opinion. Forget about it [changes happening]. UEFA and FIFA have their own business. Broadcasters have their own business but I have mine and I defend my club.
“My club is really tough; [playing every] three days, three days, three days. The other clubs don’t have that situation. The calendar has always been like that with us, we have less days to recover and we did it.”
Guardiola also noted that Paris St Germain do not have a Ligue 1 game between the two legs of their Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona and was asked why other countries appear to provide such assistance for their clubs.
“I don’t know and I’m not even going to ask because they will have their own business,” he added.
“I would like to know the answer why [we play] all the time on Saturday and not Sunday because one day is a lot of difference at this stage with the injured players, the accumulation of games and games.
“It’s fortunate because we are in contention [in many competitions] but when I see Saturday I say why? I would love to know it but I don’t. All the time it’s the same and it’s not going to change.”
City are seeking an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title and Guardiola admits Sunday’s game is vital as his side trail Arsenal and Liverpool by a single point with 10 games remaining.
“To win the Premier League you have to win almost all games I would say,” Guardiola said. “I don’t think Arsenal and Liverpool are going to drop much points.
“The experience Liverpool have in this situation, the quality of Arsenal winning I don’t know how many games in a row, scoring lots of goals…. That’s why tomorrow is the final, absolutely. We play a final.”
Ancelotti defends Kroos substitution against Bayern Munich
Carlo Ancelotti defended his decision to substitute Toni Kroos during Real Madrid's 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich.
The two European heavyweights shared the spoils in a thrilling Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena, where Vinicius Junior's late penalty levelled the tie.
Vinicius had opened the scoring in the 24th minute after latching onto Kroos' delicious throughball, one of a game-high 15 line-breaking passes the Germany midfielder played during the first half.
The 34-year-old was replaced by Brahim Diaz for the final 14 minutes of the contest, which Bayern had turned around thanks to second-half strikes from Leroy Sane and Harry Kane.
But Ancelotti, who knows the support of Madrid's fans will be crucial when he welcomes his former club to Santiago Bernabeu for next week's second leg, explained his thinking.
"Jude Bellingham had cramp, Toni Kroos played a spectacular game, but the plan was to try to recover the control of the game by putting fresh legs in," the Italian told reporters during his post-match press conference.
"As always, at this point in the season, we have a great opportunity to play in another final. It's an even tie against a great team. It will be another 90 minutes of suffering, but in an atmosphere that we know quite well. The fans are going to help us."
Meanwhile, Thomas Tuchel knows Bayern will have their work cut out in the second leg, but has encouraged his players to be confident and embrace the challenge.
"The situation is now very clear," he said. "We go to Madrid and the winner takes it all. We are ready to fight. It is important to believe that.
"It is still possible. It is 50-50. It is one of the toughest places to win, but that is also what makes this challenge exciting."
Manchester United clearout continues as two more senior boardroom figures depart
Manchester United have continued their clearout under Jim Ratcliffe by confirming the departures of Patrick Stewart and Cliff Baty.
Interim chief executive Stewart and chief financial officer Baty will depart Old Trafford at the end of the current campaign.
Stewart, who replaced Richard Arnold in the position at the start of the year, will be temporarily replaced by Jean-Claude Blanc until Omar Berrada arrives in July, while Roger Bell will take over from Baty.
The news was confirmed by United on their official website on Tuesday.
INEOS Sport chief Blanc is well known to Ratcliffe, who recently bought a 27.7-per-cent stake in United and is in control of footballing affairs.
Bell also has ties to INEOS and will now take up the same CFO role at Old Trafford.
Ratcliffe said: "I would like to personally thank both Patrick and Cliff for their support in helping us get to know the club and making us feel welcome and I respect their decisions to now move on as we establish a new management team for the club."
Executive co-chairman Joel Glazer said: "I would like to thank Patrick and Cliff for their dedicated service to Manchester United and wish them well for the future.
"Both have been a source of invaluable advice and expertise over many years, and Patrick has served an important role as interim CEO during this transitional phase."
Since Ratcliffe purchased a minority stake in United, the club have made a number of other changes behind the scenes.
John Murtough stepped down as football director after more than a decade at the club, with Dan Ashworth lined up to replace him, while Jason Wilcox has been appointed as technical director.
United are sixth in the Premier League with four games remaining, raising questions over the future of manager Erik ten Hag under the new regime.
Bayern were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency, says Tuchel
Bayern Munich were victims of Real Madrid's lethal efficiency in Tuesday's 2-2 draw but the Germans are ready to beat them in next week's Champions League semi-final return leg, says coach Thomas Tuchel.
The Bavarians struck twice in four minutes early in the second half with a shot from Leroy Sane and a Harry Kane penalty to turn the game around after Vinicius Junior had put the visitors ahead in the 24th against the run of play.
Brazilian striker Vinicius also bagged an equaliser with an 83rd-minute spot kick as Bayern were pushing for a third goal.
Tuchel felt Bayern were in a strong position to stretch their lead going into the closing stages, but instead they will travel to Madrid next Wednesday with the tie all square.
"The result is what it is and it is not worth spending any time thinking about it," Tuchel, who will leave Bayern at the end of the season after a disappointing domestic campaign, said at his post-match press conference.
"Real have done it before, to score twice with two chances.
"We are not the first team to suffer that. They have the finish, they have the quality to do that."
Reflecting on the match, Tuchel added: "We had a strong start, then we lost a bit of our rhythm.
"Then [later in the game] we should have scored a third, but we were not efficient enough, not cold enough to add a third. Then we gifted them a penalty."
Bayern enjoyed a strong start and also had chances to score again after going 2-1 up.
They will now need to win against Real, who are chasing a 15th European Cup, in Madrid if they are to advance to the final at Wembley.
Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain face each other in the other semi-final, with the first leg of that tie taking place on Wednesday.
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