Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City side are wasting a “tremendous” amount of mental energy by playing games every three days.
City went level on points with Premier League leaders Liverpool on Saturday with a 4-2 win at Crystal Palace, having beaten Aston Villa 4-1 at the Etihad on Wednesday night. They face Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first-leg tie on Tuesday night.
Guardiola was pleased with his side’s ability to claim all three points at Selhurst Park but left frustrated with certain aspects of their performance.
“We were not solid like normally we are”, he admitted. “[We play every] three days, three days, three days. The mental energy that we waste — more than physically — is tremendous.
“Today, without Kevin [De Bruyne], maybe we would not be able to win. We can talk about tactics and managers, but give me players like Kevin in games like these.
“The numbers, the presence, the consistency, he’s been amazing. He’s one of the best players in our history at Man City. Both in goals and assists, he has a lot.”
Erling Haaland scored City’s third goal in the second half, netting his first league goal in over a month after his strike against Manchester United in the derby-day win on March 3.
“Absolutely [it was] important”, Guardiola said about Haaland’s goal. “Strikers live for the goal. Today, we could have found him more.”
