Portugal blow will hit Blues
WHEN City face Liverpool in April, the result could decide the destination of the Premier League title.
The Blues will understandably want the best possible preparation for that fixture at the Etihad, so the sight of Aleksandar Mitrovic’s late header for Serbia on Sunday against Portugal won’t have been ideal.
On first inspection, City’s title hopes and Serbia’s last-gasp winner to secure qualification for the Qatar World Cup have no connection.
However, the result plunges Portugal into the European playoffs to try and secure one of the final three places in Qatar. City trio Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Joao Cancelo will all be involved in the two intense fixtures with a semi-final against an unseeded nation and then a final.
“I cannot find a great explanation for this, words fail me,” Bernardo said after the 2-1 defeat.
“It was terrible, we have to do much better because we have a play-off in March and we will do our best to qualify.
“I apologise to the Portuguese [fans]. With the quality of our players this is hardly admissible.”
Bernardo, Cancelo and Dias will be in contention to start their play-off semi-final and potential final at the end of March, less than two weeks before City’s clash with Liverpool on April 9.
Liverpool will also have Diogo Jota and Andy Robertson involved in the play-offs.
The Blues would have preferred for key players like their Portuguese contingent to have a more relaxed international break in March, just before the crucial run-in in the
Premier League. Riyad Mahrez and Zack Steffen will also be involved in final qualifying matches in March, further complicating Guardiola’s preparations.
With a fixture with Burnley coming up immediately after the break, the Blues can manage any players who have had an extra workload with their countries, but that means Guardiola’s options could be restricted as he attempts to ensure he has the freshest possible squad to face rivals Liverpool.
And Bernardo raised concerns that he may not be available for Sunday’s Premier League clash with Everton as he asked to be substituted on 63 minutes against Serbia.
“I played a little bit limited,” he said.
“I tried to give my best until the moment came when I thought that another player would be in better conditions.”
Elsewhere, Aymeric Laporte played the full game and Rodri came off the bench as Spain qualified automatically in their own winner-takes-all fixture with Sweden, while Ilkay Gundogan scored twice as Germany finished their campaign on a high, beating Armenia 4-1.