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Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are urging the Premier League to reintroduce its five-substitute rule, following Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solksjaer in criticizing the reversion to three substitutes.
After the restart of football in June from its suspension due to coronavirus, the 20 top-flight clubs were able to use five substitutes per game.
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Klopp and Guardiola are not happy with using only three substitutes
But that rule was scrapped after a vote by Premier League clubs before the 2020/21 season, with three substitutes per game returning.
However, the other major leagues in Europe continue to use the five-substitute rule, as do continental competitions in UEFA, the Champions League and the Europa League.
Due to a congested schedule, triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, games have been intensifying and rapidly and more injuries have been recorded this season than usual.
Following Manchester City’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool, Guardiola and Klopp were seen talking to each other full time.
And Guardiola has confirmed that they spoke of their desire to use five substitutes in each domestic game.
He told Sky Sports: “We don’t talk about the result. We talked about how we have to fight over and over again for five substitutions.
Look, an England international player, Trent Alexander-Arnold, is injured. Worldwide, there are five substitutions.
“But here we believe that we are more special people and [use] only three players. We do not protect players.
“So it is a disaster with this calendar. I will demand, if people allow me, to return with five substitutions.
“It will help the players, the coaches and everywhere to do it. If not, it is difficult to sustain it. “
Liverpool right-back Alexander-Arnold was forced to retire with a calf injury in the 63rd minute at the Etihad and could miss England’s upcoming games against Ireland, Belgium and Iceland.
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Alexander-Arnold suffered a calf injury during Sunday’s game
Meanwhile, Guardiola has been without a number of key players at different points in the season thus far, including Kevin De Bruyne, Sergio Agüero, Gabriel Jesus and Aymeric Laporte.
Klopp and Guardiola are not alone in wanting a reversion to the five-substitute rule as a result of the hectic match schedule.
Earlier this month, Man United manager Solksjaer said he was backing five substitutes “100 percent” and was extremely critical of the Red Devils’ roster of matches following Saturday’s loss to Everton.
When asked if he was in favor of the five substitutes rule, Solskjaer said: “One hundred percent. I don’t understand and I can’t believe that the vote was against because we have to take care of the players.
“We have to think about the players. This season is the most demanding of all.
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Solskjaer couldn’t hide his frustration over Manchester United’s intense match schedule
“I can see why the clubs voted against it, but if you take a step back and think about these professional footballers and their mental and physical health, the only sensible solution would have been to give us a chance to get some more rest.
“We have already seen a lot of injuries in the Premier League. I would have liked to have five substitutes. “
And then after Saturday’s loss to Everton, Solskjaer added: “They set the guys up to fail.
“We have Luke Shaw injured because we have already played many games this season, we were in Turkey on Wednesday, we returned at 4am on Thursday and we are playing a kickoff at lunch on Saturday.
“It’s an absolute disaster and I can’t praise the guys enough for the character they have shown. That’s all I want to talk about. Those guys deserve better than being thrown here to fail today. The authorities set us up to fail.
“How can you expect players to perform to the best of their ability when he sends them out at 12.30pm? Absolute joke. “
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