Pep Guardiola admitted he will face a nervous wait to see if all of his Manchester City players come through the international window unscathed ahead of a crucial run of games. (More Football News)
City kept alive the possibility of a second treble as they beat Newcastle 2-0 on Saturday to become the first team in the history of the FA Cup to reach the semi-finals in six consecutive seasons.
But the majority of Guardiola’s squad will now be heading off to play international football before the crunch Premier League fixture against title rivals Arsenal on March 31.
“I will not watch the (international) games, I will rest, and when they arrive on Thursday we will see which players survive and which did not survive,” Guardiola said.
“It’s difficult sometimes in that period to give all the players away for friendly games in a difficult part of the season, but the schedule is the schedule.”
Two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva were enough for City to ease to victory over outclassed Newcastle, booking the first of what City hope will be three visits to Wembley before the end of the season, with the national stadium hosting the Champions League final on June 1.
“One step at a time,” said Guardiola, who will enjoy a break in his native Catalunya during the internationals. “First we have a final against Arsenal. But now we rest. I don’t want to think too much in the future.
“It’s been an intense period. Now the players change environment, it is always good for their mind. Some will be with their families, the staff will be with their families, and then when we come back we have three games to prepare for the game against Arsenal. Let’s go.”
Speaking immediately after Saturday’s game, Guardiola said he needed Kevin De Bruyne and Jack Grealish to come back fit after the break, and also mentioned Erling Haaland, who missed two months of the season through injury earlier in the season.
But although the Norwegian was unable to add to his eight FA Cup goals in Saturday’s match, bending a shot narrowly wide early in the second half, Guardiola was happy with the striker’s performance.
“This was the Erling I like to see,” he said. “In the moments we didn’t find him a little more with the players behind him…We should have used him a little bit more in the space but sometimes it’s difficult to see during the game.”
Grealish was an unused substitute following a groin injury which saw him left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad, but Guardiola predicted he would be ready for the Arsenal match.
“Now we have 10 days to train,” he said. “We have a plan for him to train and he will be ready. Every three days we have a game in the final (stages) of the Premier League and the final (stages) of the Champions League. Everyone will be needed.”
