Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola gave his players two days off just before the Champions League final. This is because, according to Pep – ‘We will have another six days to think about the final”.
The Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea will take place on 29 May.
Yet, Pep gave his players a slight break, after beating Newcastle United 4-3 in the 36th round of the EPL. (The match was more high-scoring than we’d expected.)
“I told them to forget about football and have a great time with their families as champions,” the coach told Daily Mail.
“In training we talked about having a routine. We have to keep our concentration. The lads are training very well. In the match against Newcastle they were more relaxed, but today I saw that they are concentrated as much as possible.”
The City manager has explained why his players took two days off right before the UEFA final.
“We are playing to win the next game and prepare for the final,” Pep said. “I have no doubt that everyone at the club wants to win the remaining three games of the season.”
Per Pep, “We will have another six days to think about the final, after the game against Everton.”
“Right now, we’re thinking about Brighton,” he said instead. “We are working to approach the final in the best possible condition.”
“Our condition won’t be good if we don’t prepare for Brighton,” he reasoned, hinting that winning small battles adds up to the confidence in war.
“I haven’t talked about Chelsea for a second,” Guardiola added. “We’ll play to win tomorrow and that’s the best way to prepare for the final. In six days’ time, we will focus a little bit more on Chelsea.”
