""The reality is we cannot come in 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," he said."
""They had five days and we had two and a half days. In one of the most important games, this cannot happen. It is just not enough.""
""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 (Abdukodir) 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.""
Manchester City began the Premier League match at the Emirates 66 hours after the final whistle of their Champions League win over Napoli, leaving roughly two and a half days for rest and recovery. Arsenal entered the fixture with around five days' recovery after their Champions League trip, creating a clear disparity in preparation time. City named an unchanged starting XI despite the tight turnaround. The match finished 1-1 after Erling Haaland opened the scoring and Gabriel Martinelli rescued a stoppage-time equaliser. The compressed schedule coincided with increased fatigue and injury risk, exemplified by Abdukodir Khusanov's injury, raising concerns about fairness and player welfare.
Read at Fox Sports
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