MANCHESTER City captain Bernardo Silva has criticised football’s schedule makers for a lack of respect and fairness following his team’s Premier League clash with Arsenal.
City began their 1-1 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday just 66 hours after their Champions League victory over Napoli.
Arsenal had played their Champions League opener 48 hours earlier on Tuesday, giving them significantly more recovery time.
Silva believes City’s fatigue was a decisive factor as Arsenal dominated after Erling Haaland’s early goal before Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage-time equaliser.
Pep Guardiola selected an unchanged side against Arsenal rather than rotating his squad.
“The reality is we cannot come in to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest,“ Silva said.
“It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right.”
Silva emphasised the physical toll of playing at the highest level with insufficient preparation.
“They had five days and we had two and a half days. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen,“ he stated.
“I wasn’t feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don’t know how it feels.”
The Portuguese midfielder cited teammate Abdukodir Khusanov’s injury as evidence of the excessive demands.
“We saw Khusanov getting injured because these games demand a lot,“ Silva noted.
“I feel it is just frustrating that we couldn’t be at our best level simply because of the decision of someone that thinks it is fair.”
Silva acknowledged the commercial pressures behind fixture scheduling but pleaded for common sense.
“Look, the schedule is the schedule and I understand you have different competitions, and UEFA, the Premier League, and the broadcasters want to make their money,“ he explained.
“What we ask for is common sense because this is one of the biggest games of the season.”
The City captain expressed pessimism about the prospects for change despite player concerns.
“They don’t listen to us. We would like to change something. But it never changes,“ Silva lamented.
“It does not really matter, but for the fans, for the respect of the clubs, and for the fairness of the competition, I don’t think what happened was good.” – AFP