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Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has warned that players cannot be “sharp” if they are made to play 70 games a year.
The Norway international has enjoyed a summer break after his country did not make it to Euro 2024, but looked on from afar as some of those who were on duty in Germany struggled to reproduce their best form at the end of a long campaign.
Speaking in New York during City’s pre-season tour, Haaland told reporters: “We all saw in the Euros as well in general how tired people were.
“You could see the level, you could see even in people’s faces how tired they were of football, if you can say it that way.
“And I think that’s how it will be as well this season, of course not in the start, though maybe for some because some will not get a lot of vacation.
“But I think that’s the way we’re going now, I don’t think we can be sharp in every single game. I think we can try, but it’s difficult to be sharp if you play over 70 games a year.”
City won a fourth successive Premier League title last season, but missed out in the Champions League after a penalty shoot-out defeat by eventual winners Real Madrid in which Haaland had hit the bar in a thrilling quarter-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
I don't think we can be sharp in every single game. I think we can try, but it's difficult to be sharp if you play over 70 games a year— Erling Haaland
Asked what they were missing, Haaland said: “I don’t think we’re missing anything. City has been close.
“For the last three years, they have been so close in the Champions League and one year we won the Champions League and have won the Premier league four years in a row.
“So what City are missing, it’s not a lot because what this club has been doing for the last six years has been amazing.
“In the end, in the Champions League it’s about margins. If my crossbar header goes in in the Etihad, it would be a completely different story, maybe.”
