Erling Haaland's quiet night in Madrid didn't go unnoticed by his Manchester City teammates, who are already plotting how to ensure the striker is more effective at the Etihad next week.
22.04.2023 - 04:37 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Pep Guardiola will not allow his Manchester City players to save themselves for other competitions as they look to book another trip to Wembley.
City are in the FA Cup semi-final for a fourth consecutive year, but the game comes just three days after a draining Champions League game at Bayern Munich and four before a top-of-the-table Premier League clash with Arsenal.
Guardiola admitted he and his medical staff will need to be cautious with those who played at Bayern because of the immense energy spent in that match, with no more than 20 minutes planned for their only training session before taking on Sheffield United. However, he made clear he will not tolerate any players who think they can be rested for games ahead that they think are more important.
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"I have to convince them of the reality that [while] the tiredness is there, you can use it as an excuse or an opportunity," said Guardiola.
"If you have an opportunity you will be ready at 4.45, [but if] you have an excuse you will be tired so it depends on your thoughts. Your thoughts all the time control your body mentally, your mental approach and you can think bad or good. Wrong or a positive way.
"That depends on you, not the manager or anyone outside or anything. You feel 'I am not tired, I am ok', you feel 'I want to play in the FA Cup' then you are not tired. But if you think that you have to rest because the Champions League is nicer, Arsenal is nicer then after that you will be tired."
Guardiola is expected to make some changes for the game as City juggle three competitions, and will have to take into consideration the fitness levels of each player. Bernardo Silva could
Erling Haaland's quiet night in Madrid didn't go unnoticed by his Manchester City teammates, who are already plotting how to ensure the striker is more effective at the Etihad next week.
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Here are your Saturday evening Manchester City headlines
They might be at perceived polar ends of the football spectrum but a healthy mutual respect exists between new Leeds United manager Sam Allardyce and Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will be able to welcome back Nathan Ake in midweek as West Ham visit the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland has the same mentality to improve and score goals as Lionel Messi and warned the rest of the Premier League that the striker will be even better in his second season at Manchester City.
Phil Foden will go on to become Manchester City's next David Silva or Ilkay Gundogan as Rio Ferdinand feels Pep Guardiola does fully trust the England man but has so many quality players at his disposal.
Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan has admitted that following up February's win away to Arsenal with a disappointing draw at Nottingham Forest proved to be a crucial week in their season.
Manchester City supporters want to see Aymeric Laporte return to the starting line-up against Fulham in the Premier League this weekend.
Kyle Walker admits to struggling with not always playing regularly for Manchester City - but is willing to park any grievances with manager Pep Guardiola and put the team first.
Bernardo Silva has revealed Pep Guardiola hasn't banned talk about the treble within the Manchester City squad after the Blues took control of the title race on Wednesday night.
Kevin De Bruyne says Manchester City trained to target Arsenal’s goal kicks to help them create chances in their 4-1 win over the Gunners.
Riyad Mahrez gave Pep Guardiola plenty to think about with a wonderful hat-trick against Sheffield United on Saturday and Manchester City fans are backing him to start against Arsenal this evening.
Gabriel Jesus says Arsenal will approach Wednesday’s huge Premier League clash with Manchester City 'like a final' with the club’s title hopes on the line.
Pep Guardiola said he had no excitement for a potential Treble as he refused to discuss the prospect of Manchester City winning everything.
Legendary former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes Manchester City have a slight advantage over Real Madrid going into next month's Champions League semi-final.