Half a month before the opening of the Premier League, in addition to the fierce battle in the warm-up match, the defending champion Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola seems to hint that it is difficult to actively compete for the title, Manchester United and Arsenal, the two former protagonists, ushered in a good chance to win the championship.
In the new season, the three major European cups have changed a lot, the group stage has become a big round-robin competition, the number of Champions League and Europa League games has increased from 6 to 8, and the last two rounds of the group stage have been extended to January. As a result, the English domestic competition had to be adjusted, and only a short winter break of four seasons was implemented, which had to be cancelled. Meanwhile, the Carabao Cup final was postponed by two weeks from the past, while the FA Cup replay was cancelled and the final was played on the weekend of the 37th round of the Premier League.
It can be seen that many changes in the Premier League are a last resort, and for players, it has become more difficult, and if you want to hit multiple championships at the same time, it will become more and more difficult. At the same time, this summer, the European Cup, the Copa America and the Olympic Games are staged consecutively, and some players will choose to participate in two major competitions at the same time, such as Manchester City's Alvarez, after winning the Copa America, they rushed to France to participate in the Olympics, and contributed two assists in the second group stage, becoming an out-and-out "model worker".
Seeing such a situation, Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was quite angry, thinking that FIFA and UEFA, without considering the situation of the players, arranged too many games. As a result, some players will be able to return to the club late, and the Community Shield and the first two rounds of the Premier League may not be able to catch up. You know, according to the schedule, Manchester City faced the traditional giants Chelsea in the first round, and Guardiola's dissatisfaction obviously has a reason for him.
Pep Guardiola added that some national team matches are mandatory, but in order to defend the brand, FIFA and UEFA have arranged more matches. In the face of such difficulties, no one will provide a solution, it can only be borne by the club, since everyone does not care about the players, then, it is only for the coach to think about it and think about them.
In fact, Guardiola's complaint is reasonable, there are many major competitions this summer, don't think that there will be no more competitions next summer, and the competitions will not stop. According to the arrangement, FIFA's new World Club Championship will be staged for the first time next summer, with 32 teams from around the world competing for the title, with Manchester City and Chelsea representing England. Fans can feast their eyes on the crowd with the crowd one after another, but the players will get tired. Of course, UEFA's own UEFA Nations League, starting in September, will start a new competition, and England will be relegated to the second division due to the poor results of the last edition.
There are difficulties and can only be dealt with by themselves, Guardiola also has some prospects for the new season, thinking that the current squad is quite complete, and if no one leaves, maybe there will be no new signings. Ederson's retention is important and it is difficult to find a replacement for him at the moment. It's hard to imagine what the team would be like without him, and if he's willing to stay, that's for the best.
Guardiola's talk is still quite long, so I won't go into details, overall, there are probably three meanings, the first is that Manchester City will basically not bring in any more players, since the FA is investigating the issue of more than 100 violations, there is a good chance that there will be results within the year, and it is worth keeping a low profile.
Secondly, Ederson may really be leaving, otherwise Guardiola would not have made any effort to emphasize the importance, and the player himself feels that the two sides have good memories of working with Guardiola for eight seasons. Finally, Pep Guardiola hinted that he can only do his best in the new season. Last season, Manchester City broke the record in the English top flight, won the title for four consecutive years, and there were no more signings, including the possible departure of Alvarez, Manchester City have shown signs of fatigue.
Perhaps, many parties do not want the Premier League to become a "dominant" team, Arsenal, which has failed to hit the championship for two consecutive years, and Manchester United, which has changed management on a large scale, all see the hope of competing for the championship. Arsenal's squad has not changed much, Calafioli has just announced his arrival, and Manchester United has brought in more young players, all in order to enhance competitiveness, and I believe that the two teams will put more pressure on Manchester City.
As for Liverpool, after Klopp's departure, there are no new players joining for the time being, and there are still big questions about how long Slot's adaptation period will take. The chaos at Chelsea is not over, and Enzo's story, how it develops, tugs at the heart of the team. Tottenham and Villa, if they want to compete for the title, their strength is still lacking, especially in multi-line games, which are obviously a little difficult.
In the new season of the Premier League, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United should be the three most promising teams to win the title, and it will be different if it has remained unchanged for four consecutive years? Who is the new king, it is worth looking forward to!