There were mixed emotions for after Manchester City progressed to the semi-finals of the Champions League on Wednesday night, with the Spaniard claiming his side are in ‘big trouble’ with injuries.
City battled to a goalless draw against in Spain, securing a 1-0 aggregate win and setting up a semi-final against the bigger of the teams from the Spanish capital, Real.
A great result for Guardiola and his men, but far less positive was the sights of Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker being forced off injured during the second half of the ill-tempered contest.
De Bruyne was seen icing his ankle after walking off, while Walker appeared to twist his ankle while clearing a ball late in the game.
The extent of the injuries is not yet clear, but Guardiola was cause for concern for City fans after the game, saying they are in big trouble ahead of the run-in of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
‘Today we celebrate because it is the third time in ’s history we are in the semi-finals,’ Guardiola told BT Sport.
‘But we can’t forget we played three days ago, travelled, came here, have a lot of injuries now and I don’t know what will happen in the next weeks.
‘We cannot play all the time and score four or five goals, we are human beings – we come from a difficult game against Liverpool.
‘We are in big trouble.’
City have a busy schedule ahead as they still compete on three fronts, taking on Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, followed by Premier League meetings with Brighton and Watford, the visit of Real Madrid in the first leg of the European semi and then a trip to Leeds, all before the end of April.
Premier League title rivals Liverpool are also still in all three competitions, but Reds fans will no doubt be boosted by the fact Guardiola’s squad is slightly stretched at this point, especially if key man De Bruyne is set for a spell on the sidelines.
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