Man City were at a ‘disadvantage’ against Arsenal claims Bernardo Silva | OneFootball

Bernardo Silva has complained that it was unfair to give Manchester City two-and-a-half days less rest than Arsenal before their 1-1 draw on Sunday as he said that kind of scheduling should not happen.

City, who conceded an injury-time equaliser to Gabriel Martinelli at the Emirates Stadium, had beaten Napoli 2-0 on Thursday evening while Arsenal opened their Champions League campaign by beating Athletic Bilbao by the same score in Tuesday’s early kick-off, giving them an extra 50 hours to recover.

And City captain Silva said there was a difference in the physical condition of the two teams, while attributing defender Abdukodir Khusanov’s injury to the quick turnaround.

The Portugal international called for common sense as he argued it is particularly important that teams have longer to prepare for potentially season-defining matches.

But Silva took pride in City’s efforts at Arsenal, while he claimed he would have kept his grievances to himself if they had been beaten.

He said: “If we lost, I wouldn’t say this. But the reality is, we cannot come to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest. It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right. They had five days [to recover], and we had two and a half days. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen.

“I wasn’t feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don’t know how it feels to play a game like this. You need to be at your best condition. We saw Khusanov getting injured because these games demand a lot. I feel it is just frustrating that we couldn’t be at our best level simply because of the decision of someone that thinks it is fair to come away after two and a half less days than Arsenal. But in the end we did well in terms of fighting, resilience and sticking together and sticking to the plan.

open image in gallery

Bernardo Silva says he wasn't in the 'perfect condition' to fully compete in the Premier League clash (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

“I felt the difference in the first half. If you play at the highest level you know that two days playing against one of the best teams in the league, away, with the travel, you need at least one more day to recover. It doesn’t matter if Arsenal had four, five or six days [to recover], just give us one more day, and that gives us three-and-a-half days, and then you make it an even game. Two-and-a-half-days is not enough to recover our bodies and to perform at the highest level. It is just not enough.”

City’s high-pressure week had begun with a Manchester derby win. Uefa had picked their Champions League tie with Serie A winners Napoli for Thursday, while the Premier League moved their trip to Arsenal to Sunday.

“The schedule is the schedule and I understand you have different competitions and Uefa, the Premier League, and the broadcasters want to make their money and I understand all those sorts of things,” added Silva.

open image in gallery

Bernardo does not think it was fair that Man City had to face Arsenal after just two and a half days of rest (REUTERS)

“What we ask is that we don’t mind playing every three or four days, and we don’t mind playing 60 games because we are used to that. But what we ask for is common sense because this is one of the biggest games of the season. And it is not because of us. I don’t think that they are trying to make us lose a game.

“It could happen to Arsenal or Liverpool in a few months. But when you are playing an Arsenal versus City or a City versus Liverpool or Liverpool versus Arsenal, you need to have a bit of common sense, and understanding of these situations and in such an important game, the players need to be in the same physical conditions otherwise I don’t think it is fair. I know it might have happened to other teams in the past. Today it did not feel like we were in the same physical condition as them.”

Silva said players’ wishes were ignored as he called for change, adding: “They don’t listen to us. It is what it is. We would like to change something. But it never changes. It does not really matter, but for the fans, for the respect of the clubs, and for the fairness of the competition, I don’t think what happened today was good.”