Man City boss Pep Guardiola produces 'excuse of the season' ahead of Newcastle game

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been accused of producing the “excuse of the season” ahead of the club’s encounter against Newcastle.

Guardiola’s side take on Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening. And the City boss has bemoaned the fact that, with no trains available, his side will need to take the coach there and back.

Speaking ahead of the Carabao Cup tie, Guardiola fumed: "After the game, we cannot come back by plane because of a problem - something for the planes.

“We don’t have a plane to travel back, so we have to take a bus. It's two or three hours later that we will arrive here - so, so late, arriving on Thursday. The day after, Friday, we travel to Wolves, so that's what you have to think about.

“Then we go to Germany to play RB Leipzig in the Champions League next week. That's a really important game for us because we know what it means to be able to win there to qualify for the next stage.

“I don’t know what happened [with the aeroplane]. The team manager told me. It happened with the previous one, I think in London. It’s not a problem with the bus, but we will arrive much, much later than we expected, but it is what it is."

Fans on X, the social media platform formally known as Twitter, were quick to criticise Guardiola’s comments, with one person labelling it the “excuse of the season”.

"Stop complaining and play football bruv," another responded.

However, City fans were naturally, more positive about their manager’s comments.

One noted, "Yet some people are asking why are players injured..." while another said, "After I've heard this I am sure that we will arrive back in a plane!"

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Topics: Fan Reactions, Manchester City, Premier League, Pep Guardiola, Newcastle United, Carabao Cup

Chris Byfield

Sport journalist with experience writing on football, rugby, boxing and the Olympics. I'm also a Crystal Palace fan. Please don't hold this against me.