Guardiola Says Man City Players Are Still Not Fit
Manchester City have hit eight goals in their opening two Premier League matches but Pep Guardiola feels there is still plenty more to come.
The Spanish coach does not believe the champions will be at full capacity until after the September international break, with several players returning recently after extended breaks over the summer.
City have begun their title defence in impressive fashion, following an opening 2-0 victory at Arsenal with a 6-1 thrashing of Huddersfield Town.
But they have also been hit by serious injury setbacks for Kevin De Bruyne (knee) and Claudio Bravo (Achilles) and, ahead of Saturday’s trip to Wolves, Guardiola conceded the squad were still grappling with a quick turnaround following the 2018 World Cup.
“The problem for us is we are not far away but we are still not fit,” he told a news conference.
“We see how much effort was spent by the players, normally the regeneration is quicker and they need more time because we didn’t have a pre-season.
“Players still complain about muscular problems. That’s why Claudio is out and Kevin and this week Fernandinho had a few problems with recovery after the win over Huddersfield but that is normal – we demand a lot.”
