Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola praised his squad for consistently winning despite a congested fixture schedule that is “too much” for the players.
The Premier League champions scraped by with a narrow win over Bournemouth on Saturday thanks to a tap-in from Phil Foden.
It was the sixth match of a packed month for Man City, who faced Brentford in a midweek match that was rescheduled due to their involvement in the Fifa Club World Cup last December.
There is no let up for Guardiola’s men, who compete in the FA Cup and Champions League in between crucial league ties against Manchester United and Liverpool over the next few weeks.
“I adore my players – they are supermen,” the Catalan told Sky Sports. “They are so good. Where we come from for many years, playing every three days – they [Bournemouth] had seven days to prepare for the game and we always have less.
“So when people say, you play in the same conditions in the Premier League, no, no – we don’t have the same equality, we have much more games than the rest to play, and this is a tough place to come, they are a fantastic team, they won 3-0 at Old Trafford.
“We demand too much of our players but they respond. I know people say ‘they earn a lot of money’ but it [the schedule] is too much. Honestly. But business must go on and it surprises me every time how we are still there, they have an incredible character and are so competitive even when they are tired, they give extra.
“Our fans have to be so proud of these guys.
“The last 10-15 minutes were tough – we won the Treble and people think we have to win every game 4-0, 5-0 but that is not the reality and hopefully soon we can have a week off and refresh our minds and legs.”
