London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola fears Manchester City’s League Cup final triumph against Chelsea could come at a heavy cost.
Guardiola’s side retained the League Cup thanks to a dramatic 4-3 penalty shoot-out victory at Wembley on Sunday.
But City boss Guardiola is concerned that the clash, which finished 0-0 after extra-time, could have taken a toll on his squad after defender Aymeric Laporte and midfielder Fernandinho both suffered injuries.
With City just one point behind Liverpool in the Premier League title race and also chasing silverware in the Champions League and FA Cup, Guardiola knows his team need to be at full strength for the run-in.
“The only problem is we will miss a lot of important players for the next few weeks,” Guardiola said.
“Being in four competitions is so demanding, so tough, we don’t know where we’re going to arrive.
“Laporte, Fernandinho are injured, but it’s much better of course when you win.”
City’s third major trophy of Guardiola’s three-season reign was a rollercoaster ride as they dominated the first half before surviving a late Chelsea assault in normal time.
Ederson made a crucial save in the shoot-out to deny Jorginho, but Leroy Sane’s effort was saved for City before Chelsea’s David Luiz hit the post.
It was Raheem Sterling who dispatched the winning kick to keep City on course for an unprecedented quadruple.
“With the penalties anything could happen but we were lucky,” Guardiola said.
“We’re happy to win back-to-back in this competition for the first time in our history.
“Chelsea have quality players. After the result two weeks ago (when City won 6-0) we knew this would be more difficult.”
