Carlo Ancelotti has revealed his sympathy for Pep Guardiola and Manchester City after the Spaniard’s outburst at the fixture scheduling ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second-leg.
The two sides come together at the Etihad Stadium all square after a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu. Vinicius Jr and Kevin De Bruyne exchanged stunning strikes last week to leave the tie finely balanced.
Ahead of the decisive second-leg, City boss Guardiola has aired his complaints at the fixture schedule that his side have to face. The Premier League leaders take on Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday - just three days before their clash with Real.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s game, the Spaniard said: “I can’t understand it but I’m not going to fight it anymore. I don’t understand it but we have to adapt.
“The schedules, it is what it is. It’s not frustrating it is what it is, how many times can I comment on that?
“I’m sure the Premier League want to help teams, they don’t want to make us uncomfortable, the problem is the schedule, this amount of competitions, this amount of games.
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“I think we cannot play on Saturday because there is Eurovision and we do not have enough bodies or the capability to handle so many people [in Liverpool ].”
Whilst noting that his side could potentially be handed an advantage by City’s hectic calendar, Real boss Ancelotti fully agrees with Guardiola’s complaints. Speaking in a press conference after his side’s slender victory over Getafe, the Italian said: “Guardiola has complained about the calendar, which, as we have said many times, is too tight.
“In the first leg we had to play with less rest and now it’s their turn. The calendar is not the right one… that’s it, that’s my point of view, there’s too many games in a short space of time.
“Guardiola is right… he’s right. Maybe it would’ve been better for them to play on Saturday, I mean as we’ve just done. It’s the same with us, having the semi-final on Tuesday… I don’t know.”
Despite Guardiola’s complaints, he will certainly be hoping to add one further fixture to his side’s list over the coming weeks by reaching the Champions League final. The showpiece will take place in Istanbul on June 10, with City potentially playing either Inter or AC Milan should they beat Real.
After Sunday’s Everton clash, City also have three further Premier League games to navigate against Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford, whilst they will also take on cross-city rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
