Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his players were too physically drained to celebrate their Champions League quarter-final win over Bayern Munich as he aims to learn from past mistakes in today’s FA Cup semi-final against Sheffield United.
City remain on course for a treble after seeing off Guardiola’s former club 4-1 on aggregate with a 1-1 draw in Munich on Wednesday.
But they face another demanding week with the clash against the Blades at Wembley followed by a potential Premier League title decider against Arsenal at the Etihad on Wednesday.
“I have to see, I have to smell, I have to talk. I have to see how the players feel today,” said Guardiola on whether he will rotate his starting line-up against Championship club Sheffield United.
“After the game in the locker room (against Bayern), they could not even celebrate because of how exhausted they were.
“They were incredibly satisfied. Happy to be in the semi-final of the Champions League for three years in a row. The people sit down, talk a little bit, start to dream, have regeneration drinks, use the phone, hug each other, listen to a bit of music.
“We didn’t dance. We didn’t take photos. We didn’t do anything special.
“We could not have more sequences of passes in Munich that help us rest with the ball. They run a lot.”