Man City players played 7 consecutive matches in 25 days, equivalent to a frequency of more than 3 days for match. With Liverpool, the story is similar. The Kop even faced a heavier schedule when they had to play the Community Shield match.
“At the end of the match, Juergen and I talked about having to keep fighting for five players. Look, Trent Alexander-Arnold, an English international, was injured. Everywhere they were allowed. Instead of five people, but here we believe we are special. We are not protecting the players. It is a disaster.
Those are the words coach Pep Guardiola said after City’s 1-1 draw against Liverpool in the eighth round of the Premier League. This is the 12th match of Man City and 14th of Liverpool since the season started 2 months ago.
The reason this happens is because in mid-2021, EURO will be held and the Premier League and Champions League start late. As usual, Champions League group stage matches take place every other week to ensure the players’ fitness. This season, matches take place every week.
With the national teams concentrated in early September, October and November, the players are under intense pressure to play. The Premier League’s problems play out here.
Tournaments around the world have agreed to replace 5 players in a match to reduce the pressure on players. But only the Premier League still retains the ability to replace 3 players for match.
The fact that the star players in the Premier League have to practice with high intensity without 5 substitutions. Statistics from Whoscored confirm Liverpool’s Alexander-Arnold has played 954 minutes for Liverpool in all competitions this season.
No right-back in Europe’s top five leagues has played more than Liverpool’s 66. As a result, Arnold got injured in the match against Man City and will have to retire.