Pep Guardiola says Manchester City must handle their tough schedule – as they face another busy week before heading to the Amex.

The champions went down 2-1 at Bournemouth on Saturday with several key players absent or below par.

They go to Portugal today to face Sporting in the Champions League tomorrow.

That then gives them potentially Thursday plus the Friday morning session before heading to Sussex.

City boss Guardiola said: “It’s the reality we are living now.

“In the previous seasons we played a lot of games, but maybe we will go to the World Cup and arrive in the last stages of that competition, we’re going to play almost 70 games.

“It’s like NBA, but they have four months holiday and we have three weeks.

“You have injuries for a long time like didn’t happen before. It’s normal, it’s going to happen. We have to handle it.”

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City were without key players for the defeat at the Vitality Stadium with John Stones, Ruben Dias and Kevin De Bruyne notable absences, although the latter was on the bench.

Defenders Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake were pressed into service despite not being fully fit and were noticeably off the pace as a fearless Bournemouth landed a first ever victory over City.

Stones did not train on Monday morning while Dias has a muscular issue that will see him miss the next two games Guardiola was asked whether the hectic schedule took a toll on his own energy levels.

He said: “I don’t play, I don’t run. I’m sitting.

“We won a lot and people expect we’re going to win all the time. It’s the first game we’ve lost in the Premier League in 2024. We’re in November. It’s unbelievable.”

“We’ll learn from this and we’ll improve. I’m fine. I still have energy. I wanted to win. Congratulations to Bournemouth is all I can say.”

With key players missing or lacking fitness, Guardiola included youngsters in training on Monday.

They included Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, who has been in the matchday squad for the last two games, Jacob Wright and Josh Wilson-Esbrand.