Pep Guardiola bizarrely claims Man City trained for just '25 minutes' before Liverpool draw & gives honest John Stones injury update

After managing a hard-fought 1-1 draw against rivals Liverpool on Saturday, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola claimed that his team hardly got to train for 25 minutes before facing the Reds in the crucial Premier League fixture.

He further suggested that the Cityzens got very less time to prepare during the pre-season after winning the treble last year.

Speaking to reporters after the Liverpool clash, Guardiola said, "In seven years I don’t train. Maximum 35 minutes. We don’t train. They started pre-season 15 days before… do you know what 15 days is? We played the FA Cup final and the Champions League final. They had 15 days more with the new players. We didn’t do one day [of] tactical [work]. The day before, we train… it is the same for Jurgen [Klopp, the Liverpool manager], I’m pretty sure. We did 10-15 minutes with the ball and 10 minutes defensively.

"Before Tuesday it will be 10 minutes on the pitch, moving in that way. We cannot train. If we train, we don’t have players for the next game. We don’t have them. That’s why we have to learn from the past: just understand what you have to do. The press, who jumps. This is what we absolutely rely on."

The manager also provided an update on John Stones' condition, who despite being on the bench, did not play a part in the match.

He said, "He feels good but we want to give him one or two weeks to have proper strength training sessions. John is so important for us, I like him playing when he’s completely ready. He’s going to train, partially or complete, with us. His legs especially, to be sure that when he comes back he is stronger. And we then use him, we need him."

The 52-year-old also missed the services of star winger Jack Grealish who, along with several other players in the squad, was suffering from a vomiting bug and did not make the matchday squad.

Erling Haaland, who returned in time from an ankle injury, broke the deadlock at Etihad before Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a brilliant equaliser to snatch away a point from the reigning champions.

The Sky Blues will be next seen in action on Tuesday when they take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League before facing Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.