Fixture schedule unfair to Man City - Silva

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva says his side were at a disadvantage against Arsenal because of the Premier League's scheduling.

Gabriel Martinelli scored in stoppage time to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

City had 66 hours to prepare for the 16:30 BST game after their 2-0 home win over Napoli in the Champions League at 20:00 on Thursday.

Arsenal won 2-0 against Athletic Club in Bilbao on Tuesday.

"It is not fair to play one of these games like this. It is just not right," said Silva.

"The reality is we cannot come in to one of the most important games in the season with such a disadvantage, in terms of rest.

"I wasn't feeling in a perfect condition to play like this, and people who have not played at the highest level don't know how it feels to play a game like this. You need to be at your best condition."

Manager Pep Guardiola said City were "incredibly tired" against Arsenal.

In January he said English teams are at a disadvantage in Europe because of Premier League scheduling as they always put "the toughest schedules for the European teams in the important stages".

Silva, who made 62 appearances for City and Portugal last season, said: "I don't think that they are trying to make us lose a game.

"It could happen to Arsenal or Liverpool in a few months. But when you are playing an Arsenal v City, or a City v Liverpool, or a Liverpool v Arsenal, you need to have a bit of common sense, and understanding of these situations."

While Arsenal had a longer turnaround, three of England's other Champions League teams had a Premier League game three days later like City.

Newcastle, like Manchester City, were also in Champions League action on Thursday night - at home to Barcelona.

And they faced a Premier League trip to Bournemouth on Sunday in an earlier fixture than City, at 14:00.

Liverpool had an even shorter turnaround.

They hosted Atletico Madrid on Wednesday - and then faced Everton in the Merseyside derby at 12:30 on Saturday - 62.5 hours after full-time.

Chelsea were away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday and visited Manchester United on Saturday.

Tottenham had four days in between games, hosting Villarreal on Tuesday and then Brighton on Saturday.

The Champions League teams are all in Carabao Cup third-round action this week.

Five of the six teams have their tie three days after their league game, with Tottenham getting an extra day.

And between seasons, Chelsea had less preparation time than Manchester City having won the Club World Cup - with City going out two weeks earlier in the last 16.