London ¨C Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City cannot use its grueling schedule as an excuse if it fails to win the Premier League title.
Guardiola¡¯s second-place?side is?six points behind leader?Arsenal heading into the final weeks of the season.
But City¡¯s title bid could be hampered by a pile-up of matches after its games against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth were given new dates on either side of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 16.
Those matches needed to be moved because of City¡¯s progress in both domestic cups, but the new schedule means it needs to play three times in the space of seven days from May 13 to 19.
The League Cup winners¡¯ title charge concludes against Aston Villa on May 24.
City was?reportedly unhappy when the dates were confirmed, particularly because it felt the Palace game, originally slated for March, could have been rearranged earlier.
But Guardiola has accepted the situation as an inevitable consequence of being successful in English soccer.
¡°It is what it is,¡± the City manager told reporters. ¡°When we won the treble and quadruple we always had this kind of calendar.
¡°Of course it could be better, but I¡¯ve never expected help. We¡¯ll do that and go game by game.
¡°If you don¡¯t like it, go and train in France or Portugal. I like being here, and I¡¯ve said many times, when I was at Barcelona and saw managers here complain about the schedule, it has always been like this.¡±
City is?chasing the seventh Premier League crown of the Guardiola era as it seeks to take advantage of Arsenal¡¯s latest title-race stumble.
The Gunners blew substantial leads that allowed City to lift the trophy in 2023 and 2024.
City which travels to Everton on Monday, fell?six points behind Arsenal after?Mikel Arteta¡¯s men beat Fulham?on Saturday.
But the Everton game will be the first of City¡¯s two games in hand in a race so tight it could be decided by goal difference or goals scored.
¡°It¡¯s normal, it¡¯s the calendar,¡± Guardiola said. ¡°Sometimes you play first, sometimes behind.
¡°It is what it is and nothing changes at this stage ¡ª?you know exactly what you have to do.¡±
Guardiola claimed he did not even know when Arsenal were playing when asked if he would be watching their game against Fulham.
¡°What time do they play? It¡¯s after a training session, so maybe I will watch it,¡± said the 55-year-old Spaniard.
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