Pep Guardiola offered a solution as Jurgen Klopp bemoaned Liverpool s hectic schedule, suggesting that issue would disappear if he took up a job in the Maldives.
Manchester City are in action against Leeds United on Sunday after Liverpool have visited Newcastle United in Saturday s early kick-off.
The timing of that fixture has been the source of some frustration to Klopp, whose Reds side played in the Champions League against Villarreal on Wednesday.
But City manager Guardiola insisted it is a problem top coaches simply have to come to terms with, accepting they have little say in how the calendar is set.
The alternative, Guardiola suggested, would be leaving the Premier League for a quieter life beneath the coconut trees in the Maldives league .
Manchester City showed exactly why they are the reigning champions as they overcame previously unbeaten Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
As for neighbours Manchester United, they suffered a damaging 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa, who were good value for the victory, while Liverpool were held to a 3-3 draw by Brentford, despite another record-breaking goal from Mohamed Salah.
Elsewhere, Michail Antonio s fine start to the season continued as his late goal helped West Ham overcome Leeds United.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at the key statistics from Saturday s most notable fixtures.
2009 Aston Villa secured their first Premier League victory over Manchester United in their last 18 meetings, since winning 1-0 at Old Trafford i…
Edin Dzeko was on target against his former side as Inter inflicted a 3-0 defeat on Jose Mourinho s Roma in Saturday s one-sided Serie A contest.
Mourinho was facing off against Inter in the league for the first time since guiding the club to a magical treble in 2009-10 – the second of two successful seasons at San Siro – but he suffered a painful reunion at the Stadio Olimpico.
Hakan Calhanoglu opened the scoring directly from a corner and then teed up Dzeko, who spent six seasons with Roma prior to swapping clubs in August, before Denzel Dumfries added a third in the first half.
Inter lost Joaquin Correa to a hamstring injury but eased to victory as they moved to within a point of leaders Milan. Napoli have a chance to return to the summit when they fa…
As we brace ourselves for the penultimate round of Championship fixtures, battles at both ends of the table are going down to the wire.
With a host of clubs still scrapping it out in this season’s relegation scrap, we look set for a season-defining afternoon of Championship action.
For those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a trio of Championship betting tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday, April 26th
BST 15:00 Millwall vs Plymouth
While Millwall might have opened the New Year in the midst of a public Championship crisis, the Lions have continued on a real reargue since welcoming Neil Harris back to south London in February. Skyrocketing themselves away from a looming relegation scrap and eventually breezing…
Best Odds: 2/3
Bookmaker:
In a friendly showdown between two European heavyweights in the early hours of Wednesday, Real Madrid and Chelsea will meet at the Bank of America Stadium.
Real Madrid
Starting with Real Madrid, making real history last season as they were crowned double-champions, Los Blancos only further underlined their status as Europe’s ultimate poster boy. Getting their hands on a record-breaking 15th European crown back on June 1st as they secured a 2-0 victory against German giants Borussia Dortmund, Carlo Ancelotti’s men hold a fearsome reputation from across the continent. Reclaiming their La Liga title last season and remarkably losing just one of their 38 top-flight appearances, the Spanish icons will be looking to make a summer stateme…
Guardiola reigns again and a set-piece masterclass – Man City´s Premier League title triumph in numb
Manchester City are Premier League champions for a fourth time in five seasons, and a sixth time overall, after beating Aston Villa 3-2 in remarkable fashion on Sunday to hold off Liverpool.
City are now in front of Chelsea (five titles) as the competition s outright second most successful side and behind only Manchester United, who have lifted the title 13 times.
Indeed, only United (20), Liverpool (19), Arsenal (13) and Everton (nine) have won more titles in the history of the English top flight, dating back to 1888, than eight-time winners City.
The Citizens latest title triumph was built on a solid defence and a potent attack, with no team in the division scoring more goals (99) or conceding fewer (26).
With the aid of Opta, Stats Perform looks at…
Gareth Southgate showed footage of Sir Bobby Charlton to his squad ahead of England paying tribute to the 1966 World Cup winner at Wembley.
The jewel in the crown for club and country, the news of Charlton’s death at the age of 86 on October 21 reverberated around the world.
Southgate was at Charlton’s funeral at Manchester Cathedral on Monday and further tributes will be paid to the England and Manchester United great on Friday evening at Wembley.
The Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta is the senior men’s team’s first match since Charlton’s death and a crowd mosaic is planned, along with a video celebrating his life.
There will be a pre-match ceremony, period of applause and players will wear black armbands in memory of a man whose importance to…
Market: Armenia win
Odds:
Needing a minor miracle to secure what would be a remarkable top-two finish, Armenia will welcome Greece to Yerevan on Friday evening.
Starting with the hosts, suffering a 3-0 hammering against Finland last month, Armenia are in need of a miracle if they re to land a top-two finish in Group J. Recording just a single victory since the start of June, Head Coach Abraham Khashmanyan should take some solace from his side s form in Yerevan. Putting in a campaign-best display and putting four past Bosnia back in September, they should also be feeling confident after their most recent display against Friday s guests. When the two nations met earlier in the Group J campaign, Armenia landed a 3-2 win away in Athens.
As for the visitors…
Julen Lopetegui is eyeing improvements from West Ham as they target their first win of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Spaniard s first game in charge ended in disappointment, as the Hammers conceded a late goal in a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.
Though West Ham have brought in a whole host of new signings, few featured at the London Stadium, but Lopetegui could choose to ring in the changes in an attempt to get their first points on the board under his charge.
The Premier League is the most demanding competition around the world, so the little details are key, he said.
It s true that we lost against one of the best teams in the Premier League in the last season.
We have to keep the good things that we showed, and w…
Germany defender Jerome Boateng has told his family not to attend any Euro 2016 games out of fear of a terrorist attack during the tournament.
The terror attacks carried out on Paris in November 2015, killing 130 people, raised fears over the potential for repeat incidents at the European Championship, which gets under way in the capital on Friday.
Nearly 100,000 French security forces will be deployed to safeguard the tournament, but Boateng remains concerned something could happen during the upcoming finals.
My family and children will not be visiting the stadiums. The risk is simply too big for me, the Bayern Munich man told Sport Bild.
Of course, on the one hand it is sad that you have to think about matters like this. On the other hand, so many thi…