Tired Man City in ‘big, big trouble’ due to injuries – Pep Guardiola

Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has admitted that the wheels are almost coming off at the fag end of the ongoing season. The Cityzens’ injury woes are getting manifolded and the Spanish tactician feels his team is in big trouble because of injuries.

City played a thrilling 3-3 draw in the first-leg quarterfinal of the UEFA Champions League against 14-time champions Real Madrid. City midfielder Rodri requested for a rest, which is not a good sign for the Sky Blues.

“Take a look at our games and you realise,” Guardiola told a news conference Friday on Rodri’s comments. “It is simple. He is so important for the quality he gives us. But if you have a player that doesn’t want to play, he won’t play.

“I need to rest the centre halves also but in [England’s] friendly games, [John Stones and Kyle Walker] got injured so they get cannot rest. We are in big, big trouble.

“I had the feeling we were tired in the last games. We will decide tomorrow what we have to do,” he added ahead of City hosting struggling Luton Town on Saturday.

The veteran didn’t have an update on Nathan Aké, Phil Foden, and Kyle Walker on Friday.

“We’re training this afternoon and then we’ll know better how they feel,” he said.

Meanwhile, City’s forward Erling Haaland is the league’s highest goalscorer with 19 goals. Haaland had finished in second place in the Ballon d’Or race to Lionel Messi in 2023. Guardiola said the team’s success is of more importance to him than individual trophies.

“He needs to play more minutes, to learn from what you have to do,” Guardiola said. “But the target is not the Ballon d’Or, the target is to win trophies and he did. Would we have won five trophies last year without him? Not a chance.

“It’s not about Erling or any other player. Until you retire, you can [always] be better.”

Manchester City will take on Luton Town on Friday at the Etihad Stadium.