Pep Guardiola has just bombarded Manchester City not long ago, and the excessive number of games has affected the preparation for the Champions League
Before the Premier League battle against Arsenal in early April, the always personable Pep Guardiola couldn't bear to suddenly open fire, he thought that Manchester City would play two games in a row in nine days, while Real Madrid could rest for nine days to concentrate on preparing and waiting for the tired Manchester City to come to challenge, and now Manchester City's sudden exit reminds people of Guardiola's foresight.
Comparison of Manchester City and Real Madrid's Champions League fixtures
The Premier League teams have all been eliminated from the Champions League after Manchester City, the biggest favourites in the Champions League, and Arsenal, who had high hopes before the game, have all been eliminated from the Champions League, and if tonight's Europa League Liverpool and West Ham United cannot complete a big comeback, the Premier League teams will also disappear from the Europa League completely.
The Premier League has dropped to third place in Europe
Poor European results have affected Premier League qualification: Serie A and Bundesliga, currently the top two teams in European standings, will have five Champions League places from next season, and the Premier League is missing out on a fifth, which is a blow to Tottenham and Villa.
As an important opponent of the Premier League team in the Champions League, the other five major leagues have only one domestic cup competition, while English teams need to compete for the FA Cup and League Cup two competitions, and what is even more strange is the replay mechanism of the English FA Cup: if the game is drawn, there is no stoppage time and no penalty shootout, but it needs to be replayed on another date, and the intensive domestic competition has become an important burden for the Premier League team, which is also the most important factor for the Premier League team to be fully eliminated from the European competition.
Because the Premier League is dominated by the Premier League, the English FA has no right to intervene, and the FA Cup and League Cup have become an important source of income for the FA, which is also an important reason why the English FA has resisted external pressure and has been reluctant to reform for so many years.
But now the Premier League's overall slump in Europe has affected the Premier League's reputation and interests, with Manchester City and Arsenal's collapse this morning being the straw that broke the camel's back.
Manchester City and Arsenal were out at the same time in the early hours of this morning
Less than 12 hours after Manchester City and Arsenal were out, the official website of the English Football Association announced a major overhaul of the FA Cup format, starting next season, the FA Cup replay mechanism will be completely abolished, and the FA Cup matches will be played on weekends, which will have less impact on the Premier League.
The FA believes the revamped FA Cup will allow English teams to have a longer summer break, ensuring players have more rest before the start of next season.
One thing to say, the English FA's competition reform plan is still not strong enough, and chicken rib events such as the League Cup are still being held, which can only be said to be a soup to stop the boiling.