Man City: Pep Guardiola cancels training in bizarre decision ahead of Real Madrid clash | OneFootball

City boss has taken strange tack ahead of a crucial game before

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has cancelled his side’s training session today in a bizarre turn of events before he looks to turn around a three-goal deficit against Real Madrid in the Champions League tomorrow.

Federico Valverde hit a hat-trick in the first half to compound Guardiola to a heavy defeat, and they then fell further behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race, drawing with West Ham while the Gunners beat Everton, extending their lead at the summit to eight points.

Now, Guardiola has cancelled team training on Monday - which was supposed to be scheduled for 3pm GMT - and has insisted that his players will train on Tuesday morning, ahead of the second leg later that day.

“We will train tomorrow,” he revealed in his press conference, doubling down when asked to clarify whether his squad would train on the morning of the match.

They had suffered a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa in the lead-up to the game, as well as a trip to Swansea in the League Cup and a home league fixture against Bournemouth in a tricky period for his side.

As such, the Catalan gave the City players an extra day’s recovery, and they repaid him with a 4-1 victory over Dortmund to seal their automatic progression into the last 16 of the competition.

Bernardo Silva, who joined Guardiola in Monday’s press conference, responded to the cancellation.

"I was the only one who didn't get a day off," he joked.

“We've done it in the past, plenty of times. When we lost games, when we've won games, when the manager felt it was best for the team.

“With all the trips we've had this week, I think he felt it best for us to sleep better and come back tomorrow stronger and ready for the game."