Guardiola: No Excuses for Man City in Title Race

Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, emphasized that the team cannot use the congested fixture schedule as an excuse for failing to secure the Premier League title. As of now, Manchester City sits in second place, three points behind league leaders Arsenal.

The team's title bid is complicated by a fixture pile-up, including matches against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, which have been rescheduled around the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 16. Guardiola acknowledged that the new schedule requires City to play three times within a seven-day span from May 13 to May 19.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the scheduling, particularly regarding the rearrangement of the Palace game, but accepted that such situations are an inevitable consequence of success in English football. Guardiola noted that City is in pursuit of their seventh Premier League crown and is focused on the upcoming match against Everton, which will be their first of two games in hand in the title race.