Guardiola reveals Manchester City secret

Pep Guardiola has revealed how his Manchester City side managed to avoid the injury problems that have hit rivals Manchester United.

Ederson is City’s only absentee for Saturday’s FA Cup final against local rivals United, whose campaign has been disrupted by seemingly endless injury problems.

“ There are times when we do the same thing and we have had a lot of injuries. In the past we have controlled them very well. Lorenzo (Buenaventura, physical trainer) is a master at telling me that today it’s like measuring the temperature of soup, hot soup. To tell me not to make it any hotter, or to increase it a little”Guardiola said at a press conference. “We are used to playing 60 matches every three days. We learned that sometimes it’s best not to practice, just a little, to save energy for the match. Second, the incredible department of doctors, they stay on the job 60-70 hours (per week).”

Far fewer injuries at City

Kevin De Bruyne missed the first five months of the season after tearing his hamstring and Erling Haaland was sidelined with a stress fracture in his foot. John Stones has struggled to stay fit throughout the season. But their problems are far less than United’s.

“The players themselves sleep properly, eat properly, train properly, go out a lot until three or four o’clock, this is extremely important”, added Guardiola. “ I feel like they are incredibly focused on being in shape. You can have a lot of tactics, but if you don’t have the players, what can you do? I’m naked at that point.”

City are ranked 14th in a table compiled by the Premier Injuries website, while United lead with 45 separate injuries during the 2023-24 season, depriving Erik ten Hag of several key players as his team tumbled to eighth place of the Board. City are on the verge of winning a cup-Championship double, but were stopped by Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals.