LONDON: Bernardo Silva has expressed frustration at what he described as an unfair fixture schedule after Manchester City had just 66 hours of rest between their Champions League match and a tough clash with Arsenal.
City had just beaten Napoli on Thursday, but only had two days’ rest before drawing 1-1 against Mikel Arteta’s squad, who had a longer preparation period.
Silva described the situation as unfair and claimed that the English Premier League and UEFA should have played a better role in giving players additional recovery time, let alone involving high-profile matches.
More significantly, the City captain also highlighted last Sunday’s performance, which saw Pep Guardiola’s team appear more defensive than usual, as a ‘bad day’ for the quality of top-level football.
“We can’t go to one of the most important games of the season with such a lack of rest. It’s not fair.
“They have five days of rest, we only have two and a half days. In a big match, things like this shouldn’t happen,” he said.
Silva understands the importance of the commitment of various competitions and the demands of broadcasting, but insists that priority should be given to the level of physical readiness of the players.
“We don’t mind playing every three or four days. We’re used to 60 games a season. All we ask for is a little sanity. For big games like Arsenal against City or Liverpool, the players have to be in equal physical condition to make it fair,” he added.
The Portuguese star admitted that he had not been at his best since the start of the game, and even described fatigue as the factor that prompted Guardiola to change his tactical approach to defense.
Silva also revealed that complaints made by team captains to the authorities had previously received no attention.
“We’ve tried to speak up, but they don’t listen. We want something to change, but it never happens,” he said.