Man City's star midfielder De Bruyne insists strain of winning every game will affect team's quadruple dream after Pep's side beat Brighton 1-0 to reach final
Kevin De Bruyne (extreme left) celebrates Manchester City's only goal against Brighton with teammates during the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. City won 1-0. Pic/Getty Images
Kevin De Bruyne admits the strain of chasing the quadruple means Manchester City are almost certain to fail in their historic bid. Pep Guardiola's side edged closer to an unprecedented clean-sweep of all four major trophies as they beat Brighton 1-0 in Saturday's FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
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Having already won the League Cup, City are through to their second domestic final of the season. They are also embroiled in the Premier League title race, trailing leaders Liverpool by two points with a game in hand.
Tomorrow, they face Tottenham in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in north London. Yet Guardiola described the quadruple attempt as almost impossible after the Brighton game.
Fixture congestion
City midfielder De Bruyne agrees that the congested fixture list presents a tough obstacle due to mounting mental and physical strain. "It is nearly impossible. I don't think it is impossible to win every game, [looking] game by game, but if you see the fixtures coming up — I think we are going to be at a physical and mental disadvantage in every game we play from now," he said.
"We will have a game before the other teams, the other teams will have a rest. The Champions League is the same. So, it is difficult." City are now staying in London ahead of their next testing task at Tottenham. To underline his point, De Bruyne noted that Tottenham, who City also face in the Premier League this month, have had a free weekend ahead of the clash.
"Every game is difficult. We just have to prepare for Tuesday," De Bruyne said. "We know Tottenham played their last game on Wednesday so they will be more fresh than us. We have to prepare ourselves mentally and physically to be ready." The game will be Tottenham's second at their new stadium, but De Bruyne insists City won't be troubled by the passionate atmosphere.
City at disadvantage
"The stadium doesn't matter. They are going to be excited because it is a Champions League quarter-final," he said. "Spurs are a very good team. Everybody knows how they play. They will not change. It is going to be exciting, it is going to be tough because we play them three times in 10 days."
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