'Not fair' for City to play after two days' rest, says Silva

Bernardo Silva has accused the fixture schedulers of lacking respect and common sense, saying they put Manchester City at such a physical disadvantage for Sunday's 1-1 draw at Arsenal that it was "not fair" and "just not right".

- David Hytner

The City captain said he and his teammates could not be at their best for one of the biggest games of the season after playing in the Champions League on Thursday night; they beat Napoli 2-0 at home.

Silva said two days of rest in between the matches were not enough. Arsenal were given the Tuesday teatime slot for their Champions League tie at Athletic Bilbao, which they also won 2-0, meaning they had four clear days to prepare for City's visit.

It was not the amount of rest Arsenal had that bothered Silva; rather City's lack of it. He said he would not have spoken out if his team had lost; he is conscious it might have sounded like sour grapes.

But fortified by the result, which would have been even better had the substitute Gabriel Martinelli not equalised for Arsenal in the 93rd minute, Silva said three days of rest had to be the bare minimum.

"I am saying this because we didn't lose ... if we lost, I wouldn't say this," he said. "But the reality is we cannot come to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage in terms of rest. It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right. It can not happen.