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 Guardiola바카라s squad will now be heading off to play international football before the crunch Premier League fixture against title rivals Arsenal on March 31.
바카라I 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,바카라 Guardiola said.
바카라It바카라s 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.바카라
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.
바카라One step at a time,바카라 said Guardiola, who will enjoy a break in his native Catalunya during the internationals. 바카라First we have a final against Arsenal. But now we rest. I don바카라t want to think too much in the future.
바카라It바카라s 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. Let바카라s go.바카라
Speaking immediately after Saturday바카라s 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 Saturday바카라s match, bending a shot narrowly wide early in the second half, Guardiola was happy with the striker바카라s performance.
바카라This was the Erling I like to see,바카라 he said. 바카라In the moments we didn바카라t find him a little more with the players behind him바카라We should have used him a little bit more in the space but sometimes it바카라s difficult to see during the game.바카라
Grealish was an unused substitute following a groin injury which saw him left out of Gareth Southgate바카라s England squad, but Guardiola predicted he would be ready for the Arsenal match.
바카라Now we have 10 days to train,바카라 he said. 바카라We 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.바카라
