Manchester City’s players were recently granted a short break ahead of their clash with Leeds United and Pep Guardiola was not impressed at being asked why he made this decision.
Manchester City will feel refreshed after taking it easy for a few days earlier in the week after a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United.
The Sky Blues are still competing in four different competitions and have had to keep up with a relentless schedule which rarely gives their players a chance to breathe.
It is for this reason that Pep Guardiola made the decision to allow his players the chance to enjoy a brief resting period before they return to action against Leeds this Saturday.
Pep Guardiola explains why he gave his Man City players a break
Despite Guardiola’s reasons for giving his players some additional rest seeming fairly obvious, he was asked about this in his press conference on Friday afternoon.
The manager joked that it was not about sending his players on holiday to the Maldives, but to come back better after clearing their minds.
“You know the idea why they had the day off, right? You know the idea. It’s not to go to Maldives,” Guardiola said.
“Since September, October, we have long weeks, so the moment you can have, I learn in this country less is more. And we can train less because we have competitions. The schedule allowed us. You have to clean the minds and legs to come back better.”
Man City’s fixture list is about to pile up
The next few weeks are going to be absolutely hectic for Manchester City, with matches to fulfil left, right and centre.
Indeed, the next time City will not have to play in both midweek and at a weekend is set to be late March at the very earliest.
With important Premier League fixtures, a Champions League tie with Real Madrid and the Carabao Cup final all upcoming, it is a good thing the players got a few days off.
