Pep Guardiola hits out at 'not normal, unacceptable' schedule after Manchester City beat Chelsea to reach FA Cup final

Pep Guardiola hit out at the "unacceptable, not normal" scheduling that his side had to cope with in the run-up to their FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea, which they won 1-0.

Bernardo Silva's late goal ensured that City would not have to go through another bout of extra time after their 120-minute encounter with Real Madrid last Wednesday, where they exited the UEFA Champions League on penalties, with Silva missing a crucial spot-kick in the shootout.

City struggled to break down a resolute Chelsea defence at Wembley, but finally got the breakthrough when Kevin de Bruyne's cutback deflected off the foot of Blues goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, into the path of Silva, who stroked home past Marc Cucurella and inside the near post to send the holders to their second consecutive FA Cup final.

After the game, the City manager spoke out on how his side's fixture list had become so congested.

"It’s unacceptable," Guardiola told the BBC. "Coventry, Chelsea, [Manchester] United didn’t play in the week, and they let us play today.

"Next week, on Friday would be better. Instead of Saturday, put it on Friday, it would be better. It’s impossible; for the health of the players.

"It’s not normal. It’s not possible; not acceptable to go 120 minutes against Madrid, with the way we lost, and [now] the semi-finals [of the FA Cup].

"This country is special, but for the health of the players. I don’t understand how we survived today. I don’t understand."

City lead the way in the Premier League title race as well and are chasing a league and cup double this term after their Champions League elimination.

When asked what he thought the Football Association could do about the scheduling, Guardiola replied: “Do you think they’re going to change something?

"The only power I have is saying it here. It’s not going to change anything. I know it. But why do we play today and not tomorrow with one day off when Coventry, United, and Chelsea don’t play in midweek?

"Why? Why don’t we have one more day for the health of the players? Tell me how you prepare for this semi-final against Chelsea in the best moment of the season. It’s impossible; there’s no chance.

"I thought a lot [about rotation]. It happened two or three years ago when we played in Dortmund on the Wednesday, travelled, and on Saturday we played Liverpool, made a lot of changes, and we were 3-0 [down] at half time. They destroyed us.

"We saved face in the second half. I changed and thought a lot with my staff - this player, this player - most of the players were not [fully] recovered; it’s impossible because of the physicality and the way we played against Madrid in the Champions League with extra time and penalties.

"Mentally, it’s so tough to recover from it. These guys are legends; they’ve done it for seven years. They proved it again. Rodri, the way he played today. Kyle [Walker], having been injured for three weeks, to play 120 minutes and now running against [Nicolas] Jackson and [Mykhailo] Mudryk at the end.

"I don’t understand how they survived. Hats off [to them]."

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media