♦ Man City’s bruising last two seasons chasing successive trebles has taken its toll
♦ Stats have shown extent of City’s exhaustion and who has played most minutes
♦ Exhausted Man City?! We’re all tired, but it’s dangerous to spread that message. Big games are what it’s all about: Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast
‘They could not continue,’ a sullen Pep Guardiola said of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne after his Man City side were ousted from the Champions League. ‘They asked me to go off.’
It’s telling when your top scorer and top playmaker both run out of fume in a game as big as this against Real Madrid. Both would have likely taken penalties in the penalty shootout they were eventually beaten in.
But every player has his limit. Every team has its breaking point. City look like they are reaching theirs after two testing seasons that have pushed them to the max. The memories of winning the treble last season will live with every player involved forever, but pursuit of the same dream back to back comes with a great cost.
Defender Manuel Akanji, who ended up stepping into midfield at the Etihad, had to be withdrawn too on Wednesday night.
Footballers only have a certain amount of fuel in the tank and City’s squad now look to be running on empty ahead of another big cup game against Chelsea on Saturday. Invincible as Man City have looked in the last year, this was a reminder that even the best fitness regime in the world can only do so much.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne both asking to be subbed during Man City’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid summed up their exhaustion problem
Pep Guardiola’s men look like they are reaching their breaking point after two gruelling season chasing back to back trebles
Guardiola has done his best to rotate his side in the best way possible but the amount of competitions City play in – including the Club World Cup – burnout seems utterly unavoidable.
City can’t say they weren’t warned. Last summer Rodri sounded an alarm over the crazy amount of games he and his team-mates were playing.
‘I don’t remember exactly the games I played [last season], but I had a talk with the club and the coach because starting 57 or 59 games and playing in 60 or something is not healthy.
‘You can do it for one season, but when it’s two or three in a row, it can be worse for the team because your physicality can drop. So I have to watch out. We have already spoken that it cannot always be like this.
‘That’s why I sometimes feel bad at the end of the season – Now I am young, but maybe when I get to 30 or 31 I cannot do this kind of thing, so I have to watch the body because 60 games is not the best thing for a player.’
Before the second leg against Madrid, Rodri – who has played 3617 minutes this season reiterated his desire for a break again. He was left out of the 5-1 win over Luton, but then played the full 120 minutes and penalties against the LaLiga side.
But Rodri is not alone in the Man City stars being put through a punishing run of games this season. The team have nine players in their squad who have played more than 3,000 minutes in all competitions this season.
That means City have the most players of any Premier League side to have played 3,000 plus minutes. Arsenal are second with eight. By comparison, Liverpool – who are also competing for the the title, have only had two who have reached that total.
Rodri has pleaded for a rest after playing 56 games last season – before playing another 3617 minutes in this campaign
The stats show Phil Foden has played the most minutes of any City player, followed by Rodri
Foden is one of nine Manchester City stars to have clocked over 3,000 minutes this season
Phil Foden tops that list with a whopping 3678 minutes played. In the context of the Premier League, that only puts him tenth – with Arsenal’s William Saliba leading the way with an astonishing 3962 minutes clocked – but the fact that so many of City’s players have reached a similar level is most eye-opening.
Foden has had an incredible season but his vital importance to this City team has meant that Guardiola has been unable to leave him – nor Rodri – out on too many occasions. The consequence is that City are top, but the knock-on effect is that his star men are now on low battery mode.
Joining the pair in the 3000+ club are Ruben Dias on 3503 minutes, Kyle Walker (3395), Ederson (3334), Haaland (3281), Akanji (3207), Julian Alvarez (3160) and Bernardo Silva (3099).
It will be no surprise to see the exhausted Rodri in second place to Foden. He’s featured for a total of 3617 minutes. Clearly his pleas over tiredness have fallen on deaf ears.
Guardiola can no long run away from City’s exhaustion problem – admitting the club are in ‘big, big trouble’
It’s not over yet either. There are either one or two games left in the FA Cup and then six more games in the Premier League that will define the title. After that, most of Guardiola’s men will head to Germany for Euro 2024.
Many times Guardiola has tried to shrug off the issue, insisting that whoever needs rest will get it – but the scale of the problem has now dawned on him.
‘Take a look at our games and you realise,’ he said after the first leg against Madrid following Rodri’s latest concerns.
‘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 cannot rest. We are in big, big trouble.
After experiencing so many highs, it was only a matter of time before the inevitable low. Out of the Champions League and players are out on their feet. City could still end the season with two major trophies. But at what cost?