Even though Manchester City has already secured the Premier League championship, head coach Pep Guardiola has insisted that his players continue to perform at the exceptionally high level that they have been accustomed to.
The result of Saturday’s game between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, in which Arsenal lost, sealed City’s sixth title in the last six years — with three games yet to play.
They celebrated their most recent title victory by winning over Chelsea on Sunday, and they have a match away at Brighton on Wednesday before their last league game of the season takes place at Brentford on Sunday.
After the FA Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley on June 3, City will play in the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Istanbul a week later. The Champions League final will take place on June 10.
After City caught up with Arsenal in the championship race, Guardiola said that there would inevitably be a decrease in energy levels among his players. However, he pushed his men to maintain their focus in front of their two finals.
“They need to be ready to run a lot,” the City manager added. “They have to be ready to run a lot.” “Being prepared is the most effective strategy to prepare for the final exam. The players decide what constitutes acceptable, and it is up to them to keep it up.
“A decrease in energy is to be expected; it’s normal.” Only the Premier League is open to Arsenal’s competition. We compete in the FA Cup as well as the Champions League, so the amount of energy that we utilize is enormous.
“It’s normal that you drop, but you should try to prevent it or drop as little as possible because else the two clubs (Brighton and Brentford) would be able to punish us. Play our game, modify the way we play, and get ourselves into the greatest possible condition before we face United and Inter.”
Because City has such a deep roster, Pep Guardiola has lots of alternatives when it comes to rotating his players.
Against Chelsea, he made nine substitutions, one of which was England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who had struggled in his debut season with the club since signing from Leeds. This was Phillips’ first start in the Premier League.
Guardiola stressed that everyone of his players still has an active role to play in the game.
He stated, “Everyone can have an influence, and sometimes five minutes is as important as the rest,” and he was right.
“Everyone has played an important role, and everyone has contributed to the fact that we are where we are today,” she said.