Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola has expressed his disappointment at a Premier League decision that gives Real Madrid an edge in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.
The league managers have decided to move his side’s fixture against Everton to Sunday (today), with the Citizens also due to play Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Manchester City were due to play against Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, but the league decided to honour a request from Liverpool city authorities to move the match to Sunday to accommodate the city hosting this year’s Eurovision competition.
Speaking ahead of the Everton game, Guardiola said, “I can’t understand it but I’m not going to fight it anymore.”
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The Manchester City boss also said his team will have to adapt to the change in the schedule and hoped that the lack of an extended break would help them remain sharp for the Real Madrid game.
He said, “I don’t understand it, but we have to adapt. The schedules, it is what it is.
“I’m sure Premier League want to help teams, they don’t want to make us uncomfortable.
“I think we cannot play on Saturday because there is Eurovision in Liverpool and there are not enough bodies, or the capability, to handle so many people in the city.”
Manchester City’s opponents in the UCL, Real Madrid played against Getafe yesterday giving them an advantage of an extra 24 hours of rest compared to the Cityzens.
