Pep Guardiola makes Liverpool 'destroyed' claim during Man City rant amid title race

Pep Guardiola slammed Manchester City’s fixture schedule after they reached the FA Cup final.

City earned a 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Wembley to set up a clash against either Manchester United or Coventry City. But Guardiola was unhappy that the Etihad Stadium outfit were in action just three days after they were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Real Madrid on penalties.

Guardiola was in no mood to celebrate City being on track to win successive FA Cups and top of the Premier League table.

And he pointed to the fact that two seasons ago when his side also were in the semi-final, they were comprehensively defeated by Liverpool 3-1 because of the way fixtures turned out.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Guardiola said: “It’s unacceptable to let us play today. It’s impossible, for the health of the players. It’s not normal. It’s unacceptable.

“One-hundred-and-twenty, the emotions of Madrid, the way we lose, honestly. I know this country is special [with the FA Cup] but it’s for the health of the players. I don’t understand how we survived today.’

“Do you think demanding will change something? The only power I have I say here. ‘Why don’t we play tomorrow? Chelsea, Manchester United, Coventry didn’t play midweek.

“I thought a lot. I remember two seasons ago we had Dortmund on Wednesday – and Liverpool on Saturday [in the FA Cup semi]. They were 3-0 up at half-time. They destroyed us.

“Mentally so tough to recover. Rodri, the way he played today, Kyle [Walker], who was injured for a few weeks, I don’t understand how they survived. We want to play football. We love to play football but it’s too much. They killed us on the transition. The game was so tight. [I thought] extra time, no please.”

Liverpool have the chance to put the pressure on City in the title race when they travel to Fulham today. A win for the Reds will see them move three points above the current champions.