sport news Haaland and De Bruyne had nothing left in gruelling Real Madrid loss and Rodri ... trends now
'They could not continue,' a sullen Pep Guardiola said of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne after his Man City side were ousted from the Champions League. 'They asked me to go off.'
It's telling when your top scorer and top playmaker both run out of fume in a game as big as this against Real Madrid. Both would have likely taken penalties in the penalty shootout they were eventually beaten in.
But every player has his limit. Every team has its breaking point. City look like they are reaching theirs after two testing seasons that have pushed them to the max. The memories of winning the treble last season will live with every player involved forever, but pursuit of the same dream back to back comes with a great cost.
Defender Manuel Akanji, who ended up stepping into midfield at the Etihad, had to be withdrawn too on Wednesday night.
Footballers only have a certain amount of fuel in the tank and City's squad now look to be running on empty ahead of another big cup game against Chelsea on Saturday. Invincible as Man City have looked in the last year, this was a reminder that even the best fitness regime in the world can only do so much.
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne both asking to be subbed during Man City's Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid summed up their exhaustion problem
Pep Guardiola's men look like they are reaching their breaking point after two gruelling season chasing back to back trebles
Guardiola has done his best to rotate his side in the best way possible but the amount of competitions City play in - including the Club World Cup - burnout seems utterly unavoidable.
City can't say they weren't warned. Last summer Rodri sounded an alarm over the crazy amount of games he and his team-mates were playing.
'I don't remember exactly the games I played [last season], but I had a talk with the club and the coach because starting 57 or 59 games and playing in 60 or something is not healthy.
'You can do it for one season, but when it's two or three in a row, it can be worse for the team because your physicality can drop. So I have to watch out. We have already spoken that it cannot always be like this.
'That's why I sometimes feel bad at the end of the season - Now I am young, but maybe when I get to 30 or 31 I cannot do this kind of thing, so I have to watch the body because 60 games is not the best thing for a player.'
Before the second leg against
