Pep Guardiola said his Manchester City squad only trained for 25 minutes before the draw with Liverpool – because he could not risk losing more players.
Guardiola was only able to name eight subs on Saturday – including two goalkeepers – because he is already without so many players. Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes are all injured, John Stones was on the bench but not fit to play, while Jack Grealish missed the game because of illness.
Guardiola said the relentless fixture schedule, going back to last season’s Treble-winning campaign, combined with current absentees, means his squad cannot train properly. “In seven years, I don’t train,” said Guardiola. “Maximum 35 minutes. We don’t train. They started pre-season 15 days before – do you know what 15 days is?
We played the FA Cup final and then the Champions League final. They had 15 days more with the new players. We didn’t do one day of tactical. It’s the same for Jurgen, I’m pretty sure. The day before this game, we did 10-15 minutes with the ball and 10 minutes defensively.
“Before Tuesday it will be 10 minutes on the pitch, moving in that way. We cannot train. If we train, we don’t have players for the next game. We don’t have them. That’s why we have to learn from the past: just understand what you have to do. The press, who jumps. This is what we absolutely rely on.”
City star De Bruyne has said he hopes to be back on the pitch in January. The Belgian midfielder has been out of action since the first game of the season, but gave a promising update to Sky Sports at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. “It’s going well, getting along. Still got a little way to go, but we’ll be there,” De Bruyne said. Asked when he hopes to be back, he replied: “Hopefully something close after the New Year, if everything goes well.”
But Guardiola will not rush his talisman back as he continues his recovery from a recurring hamstring problem. Speaking earlier this month, Guardiola said: “With these kind of injuries, it’s better not to put pressure. When he feels good and the doctors are confident, we can take the next step. You don’t want to go too early and have to go back again. A tough injury, surgery, so step by step.”
