Pep Guardiola believes fewer points will be needed to win the Premier League title this season due to the increasing physical demands placed on players.
Manchester City, under Guardiola’s guidance, has consistently pushed the boundaries, becoming the first English top-flight team to reach 100 points in 2017/18. They’ve since broken the 90-point barrier three more times. This relentless pursuit of victory has seen their rivals, notably Liverpool, also elevate their game, achieving 99, 97, and 92 points in three of the last six seasons. Six of the last eight Premier League champions have surpassed the 90-point mark.
Before 2017, only four teams managed to reach 90 points in the 21 years since the league’s transition to 20 clubs and 38 matches. Guardiola, reflecting on City’s recent 2-1 defeat to Bournemouth, which ended their 32-game unbeaten league run, acknowledged the increasing pressure on players.
“Of course, absolutely,” he stated when asked if fewer points would be needed to win the title. “If we’d had five more days to prepare and recover (for Bournemouth), maybe we would have been better. Or maybe not, who knows.”
City’s packed schedule, coupled with their participation in FIFA’s inaugural Club World Cup in July, raises concerns about player fatigue. Last month, global players’ union Fifpro, along with a group representing 39 European leagues, filed a legal complaint against FIFA regarding player overload.
“It’s like the NBA, but they have four months holiday and we have three weeks,” Guardiola compared. “You have injuries for a long time like didn’t happen before. It’s normal, it’s going to happen. We have to handle it.”
City’s defeat against Bournemouth highlighted the impact of injuries, with key players like John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Kevin De Bruyne absent. Defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, despite not being fully fit, were pressed into action and struggled to match Bournemouth’s intensity.
Guardiola, when asked about his own energy levels, downplayed his concerns. “I don’t play, I don’t run. I’m sitting,” he said. “We won a lot and people expect we’re going to win all the time. It’s the first game we’ve lost in the Premier League in 2024. We’re in November. It’s unbelievable. We’ll learn from this and we’ll improve. I’m fine. I still have energy. I wanted to win (on Saturday). Congratulations to Bournemouth is all I can say.”
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