According to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, players who returned from their international duties at the World Cup may be in better physical condition than those who did not participate in the tournament.
Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions, will face their old rival Liverpool in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
This will be the first time that Manchester City has played an official match since the beginning of November. It is not uncommon for professional soccer players to experience fatigue and physical strain when participating in international tournaments, such as the World Cup.
It will be the responsibility of the coaching staff and medical team to properly assess and manage the physical condition and conditioning of all players, regardless of whether they participated in the World Cup.
The speculation of Pep Guardiola
During the World Cup, Manchester City had more players participating and accumulating playing time compared to the other top six teams in the league. A total of 16 Manchester City players traveled to Qatar for the tournament, with Julian Alvarez playing the entire time and ultimately winning the competition.
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Before Manchester City’s League Cup game against Liverpool, Pep Guardiola stated that he believed that players who participated in the World Cup could be in better physical condition than those who did not.
He mentioned that Sergio Gomez, Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer had missed some training. By contrast, Manu Akanji, Rodri and Aymeric Laporte, who returned from the World Cup, have been able to train constantly.
Erling Haaland, Manchester City striker, did not participate in the World Cup. He has scored 18 goals in 13 league appearances this season and some expect him to maintain this level of scoring in the second half of the season as he has had more than a month off.
Haaland’s performance evaluation
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Recent comments from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola suggest he is still determining Haaland’s ability to sustain this level of performance.
Whether or not Guardiola’s comments will lead to any concrete action from Manchester City remains to be seen, but it is certainly an interesting development in the ongoing saga of Haaland’s future.
However, Guardiola has remained coy about the situation, refusing to be drawn in by any potential move from the Norwegian star.
Only time will tell if Guardiola’s concerns are justified or not.
