Mancini unhappy at fixture scheduling
Man City boss says “incredible” that his team only had two days’ rest
Manchester: Roberto Mancini believed it was “incredible” that Manchester City were required to play Sunderland in Saturday’s early kick-off after their 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday evening in the Champions League. City in effect have two days’ less rest than Manchester United, who face Newcastle at 4pm on Sunday having had their Champions League group game on Tuesday. Chelsea, the Premier League leaders, kick off at 3pm on Saturday after winning at Nordsjaelland on Tuesday.
Mancini said: “We need to recover very well because we play early on Saturday and I don’t understand this. It’s incredible that we play Wednesday night and then Saturday at 12.45. We have two days and 12 hours to recover very well.
“We didn’t play a good game but we lost a lot of energy in this game and we need to recover. Everywhere else, the teams that play in the Champions League play three or four days before the game and have three days minimum afterwards. Here it is strange.”
City’s stuttering performance against Dortmund ended in Mancini’s side grabbing a late point after Mario Balotelli’s penalty. This followed indifferent league form that has left them four points behind Chelsea with 16 goals conceded in all competitions.
