Pep Guardiola ordered his Manchester City players to stay away from the training ground after a gruelling week left them playing in 'unacceptable' conditions.
City’s coach was furious with the decision to play their FA Cup semi-final on the Saturday rather than the Sunday when they were the only one of four remaining teams to play in midweek.
To make matters worse, that match on Wednesday needed extra time and penalties against Spanish super club Real Madrid with the Blues left to deal with the emotional issues of a Champions League shootout defeat as well as physical recovery; Guardiola described it as a 'punch in the face'.
Guardiola and his players survived against Chelsea at Wembley with help from the wastefulness of Nicolas Jackson and the composure of Bernardo Silva, but both the manager and his squad blasted the schedule after the game for putting the health of the players in unnecessary jeopardy.