the Spain midfielder has highlighted City’s advantageous schedule in the lead-up to the encounter, with Guardiola’s players having an extra day of preparation after their Champions League match. Fabregas told Chelsea’s official website:
‘The truth is we knew it would be a difficult week, starting with the trip to Stoke last Saturday which as we know is always a complicated task.
‘Then there was the trip to Atletico Madrid, arriving back early the next morning at 5am on Thursday, with practically only one day to prepare for the match. ‘We faced a City team who came well prepared.
They had home games and one extra day of rest. ‘We are making no excuses but it was a difficult week and we have competed. We gave it everything and could not have done anything more.’
He added: ‘They [City] are a great team. We know that. They had won their last two games, much in the same manner that we did, so congratulations to them.
‘This was without a doubt the same Chelsea of last season, but what happened was that we came up against a City side who went into the game much better rested than we did. Nothing more.
‘This time last year we were eight points behind, but it doesn’t mean anything. There is still a long way to go in all competitions.’
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