Neil Humphreys: Terrifying time for title rivals
Guardiola and Klopp will be sweating over every dodgy tackle on their players at the upcoming internationals
When the studs smashed into Leroy Sane's ankle, Pep Guardiola must have thought all his praying had been in vain.
The Manchester City manager prays for his players on international duty. He prays that they do not go out on a limb, as it were, and return safely for the most important games of their season. And then, Sane's ankle was almost cut in half.
Serbia's Milan Pavkov introduced his boot to the German winger's bone in their friendly yesterday morning (Singapore time) and earned himself a red card. Watching on TV, Guardiola must have earned himself a lie down.
Fortunately, Sane rose to his feet, allowing Guardiola to drop to his knees and give thanks. The prayers are working. For now.
But the upcoming internationals are essentially voodoo dolls of Guardiola and his title rival Juergen Klopp, with each dodgy tackle a potential pin.
Every foul hurts them. Every time a physio runs on, the two men see their English Premier League title challenge possibly running away from them.
Honestly, have two managers ever wanted an international break less?
Publicly, Klopp has said otherwise, of course. The Liverpool manager has welcomed the chance to focus on the recovery of Joe Gomez, Dejan Lovren and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ahead of the crucial visit of Tottenham Hotspur on March 31.
But Klopp gives with one hand and quietly takes with the other.
Fullback Trent Alexander-Arnold has withdrawn from the England squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers. His back complaint has troubled the 20-year-old since the Burnley game, where he was substituted.
He completed the next game against Fulham and should be fine for the Tottenham clash, but isn't fit enough for England's games against the Czech Republic and Montenegro, apparently.
Klopp might be accused of making a cynical withdrawal. Klopp might be a million miles away from caring.
With a two-point lead in the EPL standings, Liverpool will depend upon Alexander-Arnold to retain their advantage.
Indeed, the distribution of both Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson was exemplary in their 2-1 win over Fulham, a high point in an otherwise lacklustre team display.
And, as luck would have it, Robertson also withdrew from Scotland's Euro 2020 qualifier in Kazakhstan yesterday.
COUNTRY COMES SECOND
He needed to see a dentist, something about a troublesome abscess. He'll be back to face Tottenham, though, along with Xherdan Shaqiri, who'll miss Switzerland's games with a groin problem.
Klopp is playing the game once mastered by Sir Alex Ferguson. Country comes first, unless one's club are chasing a first title in 29 years. Then the country comes second to sore groins and gums.
Guardiola isn't just relying on the power of prayer either in his bid to spare his footballers the vicious tackles that almost shattered Sane's ankle.
City duo John Stones and Fabian Delph were pulled from the England squad just days before their game against the Czech Republic tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
They'll join Nicolas Otamendi in light training, after the centre-back withdrew from the Argentina squad with an ankle problem.
Argentina's Sergio Aguero, France's Aymeric Laporte and Spain's David Silva have also been spared any international exertions as a paranoid Guardiola attempts to stretch resources across the most intense campaign in the club's history.
Chasing a quadruple, City not only have a tougher domestic run-in than Liverpool, but they also face at least 10 games across a six-week period straight after the break, including a Champions League quarter-final and an FA Cup semi-final.
Guardiola's squad depth is both a blessing and a curse. He has withdrawn almost half a dozen players, but still has up to 14 more on international duty in the coming days.
Yesterday morning, his German winger barely escaped a horrific challenge. No wonder Guardiola left for a quick holiday, admitting he was struggling with the pressure.
The Spaniard finds himself in the absurd position of being branded a failure of sorts if he "only" wins the League Cup and the EPL title. City managers have been sacked for such trophy hauls in the past.
Guardiola was hired to win the Champions League. And up to 14 of the footballers tasked with achieving that goal are preparing for the kind of cowardly, violent acts that almost ruined Sane's season; i.e. cynical fouls from lesser players.
No wonder he's praying. Klopp should probably join him.
For both managers, the title campaign is rather like Sane's sore ankle. One bad tackle could almost break it.
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