PM supports replays
MAN CITY v CHELSEA
(right) left licking their wounds following their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid on penalties in midweek.
To make matters worse, Guardiola has doubts over the fitness of key duo Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland.
But Guardiola knows there is no time to sulk about being dumped out of Europe, and admits City have no choice but to bounce back.
“It is what it is, but I prefer to play this game than stay at home and think of the next game,” he added.
“It’s better to be here, in this situation. There’s no time, we go there and try to compete.
“Don’t feel sorry that we’re out. Sometimes you lose games. We don’t have an option, we don’t want to feel bad for ourselves.
“We don’t have time to reflect, we’ll do that in the summer time. You compete to win, but sometimes you lose games, and that’s what happened.”
Guardiola, meanwhile, has thrown his backing behind Bernardo Silva in the wake of his shocking spot-kick miss in the defeat to Real.
Heroes
Silva has come under-fire after chipping his penalty straight into the hands of Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin.
But Guardiola said: “He’s trained good and he’s ready.
“The guys who take the penalties are heroes, because not everyone can do it.
“He didn’t want to miss it. But he showed responsibility in front of everyone.
“I would never judge him, completely the opposite. Big respect.”
BRITISH prime minister Rishi Sunak has led a massive backlash to the Football Association’s decision to scrap FA Cup replays.
The FA is facing fury from EFL clubs who claimed they had no advanced warning of the move and insist it was a “spineless” stitch-up between them and
Premier League.
A spokesman for PM
Sunak (inset) said:
“David and Goliath fixtures are a part of the magic of the Cup. We know that replays have been a welcome source of income for smaller clubs throughout the years.
“These are decisions for the footballing authorities but clearly it is incumbent on The FA and Premier League to explain it and why it is in the interest of fans.” The FA rushed out a statement in the face of criticism reading: “Removing Emirates FA Cup replays was discussed in the early meetings and all parties accepted that they could not continue.
Inevitable
“The calendar for next season was approved by the Professional Game Board last month and then by the FA Board.” Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag said: “It’s very sad for the British football culture but it is also inevitable.
“It’s due to the overload in the schedule – that’s dictated by FIFA and UEFA.”