Pep Guardiola feels his Manchester City side have hit top form at just the right time, as their season pauses for the international break.
Having progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals and FA Cup semi-finals this week, City are still fighting on three fronts.
The reigning Premier League champions trail current leaders Arsenal by five points with 11 games to go – including a crunch clash at home to the Gunners next month.
City are on a six-match winning run in all competitions – during which they've 23 goals, thrashing RB Leipzig 7-0 and Burnley 6-0 in the past five days alone (Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in both games because that's just what does).
And Guardiola is understandably delighted with what he's seen – although he admitted that the intensity of his team's schedule has been physically testing. Speaking after reaching the last four of the FA Cup for the fifth fifth straight season, he said:
"We are in a good moment. Against Newcastle, we were good to handle an incredible opponent [City won 2-0] – then after, Leipzig and Crystal Palace [who City beat 1-0], always we suffer.then after, Leipzig and Crystal Palace, always we suffer.
"But we scored a lot of goals and conceded few chances and were stable with everyone making contributions.
"We defended well; we are a threat [from] set-pieces like never before. In the last six or seven years, I never had the feeling we could score [from] every corner or free-kick.
"At this stage, to still be alive in three competitions is so nice, so good."
Guardiola will come up against former club Bayern Munich in the last eight of the Champions League, before a potential semi-final against Chelsea or holders Real Madrid.
City will discover their FA Cup semi-final opponents when the draw is made on Sunday afternoon.
