Pep Guardiola sarcastically 'thanks' the Premier League

17 Aug 2023
Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola sarcastically 'thanks' the Premier League for giving Man City a Wednesday-Saturday turnaround after Super Cup win, as he bans Jack Grealish and Co from alcohol in their celebrationsMan City beat Sevilla on penalties to claim the Super Cup on Wednesday nightCity face a quick turnaround to be ready for their next fixture against NewcastleWATCH: 'It's All Kicking Off' - Episode 1 - Mail Sport's brand new football show

By Tum Balogun For Mailonline

Published: 08:09 BST, 17 August 2023 | Updated: 08:54 BST, 17 August 2023

Pep Guardiola was unable to hide his frustration at Manchester City's congested fixture schedule following their penalty shootout win against Sevilla in the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday. 

Last season's Champions League winners recovered from an early concession to Youssef En-Nesryi and equalised through youngster Cole Palmer, before prevailing on spot kicks. 

Having seen his team involved in an intense contest in Greece, Guardiola made sure to aim a dig at the Premier League following its decision to schedule their next game on Saturday evening. 

The City boss even joked that the 72 hour turnaround meant celebrations of their maiden win of the competition would have to be restricted to soft drinks.  

'Of course tomorrow we'll be even happier than today,' the Spaniard told reporters post-match. 'Recovered, not one drop of alcohol today. 

"Thank you so much to the Premier League for letting us play on Saturday...and not on Sunday or Monday..." ????

Man City boss Pep Guardiola on his sides recovery after their Super Cup win ???? pic.twitter.com/Y2dmK49uTx

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 17, 2023

Pep Guardiola vented his frustrations with Man City's busy schedule after their Super Cup win

The City boss insisted that their UEFA Super Cup celebrations will be vastly different to those after they won the Champions League last season

Players such as Jack Grealish celebrated their Champions League success by partying and drinking for the following week 

'Recover as much as possible because again from Greece, thank you so much to the Premier League to let us play on Saturday not on Sunday or Monday. Thank you so much.' 

The scenes after Wednesday's win will be a far cry from the ones witnessed following City's historic treble celebrations last term. Winger Jack Grealish led the festivities in June, which began with a £10,000 all-night party after their 1-0 Champions League final win against Inter Milan.

Th 27-year-old's exploits were then well documented as took every opportunity to mark the special occasion, jetting off to Ibiza with several other City stars including Erling Haaland, before the Citizens' title-winning parade.

The City boss made four changes to the side which earned a 3-0 victory against Burnley on the opening day and handed a first full debut to £72m signing Josko Gvardiol at the at the Karaiskakis Stadium. 

The Citizens were of course without Kevin De Bruyne, who suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury he sustained last season's Champions League final and is expected to be out for several months. 

Meanwhile, defenders John Stones and Ruben Dias who were both surprise omissions for the last Friday's game at Turf Moor made the trip to Europe but were unused substitutes. 

City welcome the early table-toppers Newcastle to the Etihad on Saturday evening, buoyed by their thumping 5-1 victory against Aston Villa on matchday one. 

Cole Palmer scored City's only goal of the contest before they won the Super Cup on penalties

Grealish and Erling Haaland celebrated winning the club's first UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla

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Pep Guardiola sarcastically 'thanks' the Premier League for giving Man City a Wednesday-Saturday turnaround after Super Cup win, as he bans Jack Grealish and Co from alcohol in their celebrations
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