Pep Guardiola joked that he would be putting his exhausted players in a fridge after dragging themselves into another FA Cup final.
But the concerning sight of John Stones gasping for air midway through the first half, before being substituted at the interval, was no laughing matter. Instead it underlined why Guardiola and his players were so angry with the scheduling.
England star Stones looked deeply uncomfortable after a sprint to chase down Nicolas Jackson and it was no surprise to see Ruben Dias replace him for the second period.
For long spells at Wembley City looked shattered, the physical and emotional toll of their penalty shootout defeat to Real Madrid last Wednesday weighing heavily. And were it not for Chelsea’s lack of a finishing touch, this would have been a comprehensive defeat.
They should have beaten Real but fell short. They should have lost to Chelsea but found a way. “But this is football,” Bernardo Silva said.
Saturday’s matchwinner, finding immediate redemption after his penalty shootout miss against Real, added to the complaints afterwards by pointing to his own aches and pains. “I wasn’t fine at all, I wasn’t,” he said. “I felt my left hamstring and my right calf.”
Yet this was not just whining for whining’s sake and both Guardiola and Silva made it clear their complaints were about more than City. In reality, it should open up a fresh conversation around how the demands of an increasingly packed calendar are pushing players to breaking point.
On this occasion, their blame was directed at the FA and broadcasters, with Silva arguing there was no reason why City could not have played yesterday to allow an additional 24 hours rest.
The FA have not responded to the accusations levelled by City but the issue stemmed from Chelsea playing Arsenal in the Premier League tomorrow night.
Still, Silva said: “We didn’t play on a level field because the FA didn’t give us a chance to recover, which in my opinion is not reasonable at all. I’m just saying this because we won. If we didn’t win I wouldn’t say it because I don’t like to find excuses. But I don’t think it’s acceptable we had to play [first].
“Today was too much. We played 120 minutes less than three days ago and had to play against a team that didn’t travel because they are from London and had five days waiting for us and thinking about our game. There was no excuse to not have the game on Sunday. It’s not acceptable. For all of us, as a team, that’s how we feel.”
Guardiola said he couldn’t “understand how we survived.” A mild exaggeration, perhaps, but as his players travelled home on Saturday night he told them to spend two days with their families to rest. City face another trip south to play Brighton on Thursday night and Guardiola added: “I just want to protect my players. It’s common sense. I’m not asking for something special or have a privilege.”
But will it ever change? And what will it take for those in charge to decide enough is enough? “I don’t know,” Silva added. “It looks like they don’t care because we’ve said it many times. It’s not about wanting to be favourites. It’s about health.
“This is not fair for Manchester City. This is not fair for us. When I say Man City, maybe other clubs have gone through it, I’m just talking about personal experience. But I think they have to pay more attention to these little details.”
