Manchester City dominated the League Cup during the early years of Pep Guardiola's reign, lifting the trophy in four of his first five seasons in charge. The City manager said 12 months ago he didn't intend to "waste energy" in the competition and would instead field his "second team", vowing to prioritise the Premier League and Champions League. With City having taken part in this summer's Club World Cup and the expanded Champions League format also meaning more matches, Guardiola will be acutely aware of the need to manage the minutes played by his squad and reduce the risk of late-season burnout.
Manchester City dominated the League Cup during the early years of Pep Guardiola's reign, lifting the trophy in four of his first five seasons in charge.
Remarkably, City won 21 consecutive ties in the competition between 2017 and 2021 (with two-legged semi-finals counted as a single 'tie'). But it has been a different story since then, with Guardiola's team losing four of their subsequent seven EFL Cup games.
That is partly a result of shifting priorities. The City manager said 12 months ago he didn't intend to "waste energy" in the competition and would instead field his "second team", vowing to prioritise the Premier League and Champions League.
The Spaniard still picked a fairly strong side for last season's fourth-round exit to Tottenham, albeit he didn't risk star striker Erling Haaland, keeping him on the bench.
With City having taken part in this summer's Club World Cup and the expanded Champions League format also meaning more matches, Guardiola will be acutely aware of the need to manage the minutes played by his squad and reduce the risk of late-season burnout.
Category: General Sports
