Manchester City boss, Manuel Pellegrini, claims his side’s horrific 3-0 loss to Liverpool was due to their busy Champions League and League Cup fixtures.
Goals from Adam Lallana, James Milner and Roberto Firmino did the damage on Merseyside as the Reds gained a measure of revenge after Sunday’s League Cup defeat on penalties.
Wednesday’s contest was City’s third match in seven days across three different competitions, with Pellegrini having taken his side to Ukraine in the Champions League prior to their Wembley triumph.
Now the Chilean feels his lads would have done better had they not been involved in those other two games.
“It is difficult to have an excuse, but I saw the team was not recovered from the last week,” the former Malaga coach told BBC Sport.
“We played Champions League and then League Cup final and I saw the team was not fresh and Liverpool played better.
“The last two days we work very light, just try to recover the players but from beginning they won all the balls and had a high pace – more pace than our team.
“We didn’t attack well and create chances and didn’t have fresh legs to play like we can.”
The result left City 10 points behind leaders Leicester City with one game in hand, but Pellegrini, who departs Manchester at the end of the season, has not given up hope of ending his tenure with another title.
He added: “It seems like the Premier League continues being the same from the start and very close. We will continue fighting.”
