Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini admits tiredness looks to be catching up with his players after Wednesday's 3-0 away defeat at Liverpool.
The Citizens beat the Reds to lift the Capital One Cup on Sunday but struggled to cope with the pace of Jurgen Klopp's side at Anfield as they fail to close the gap on leaders Leicester City.
"It is difficult to have an excuse but I saw the team was not recovered from the last week," Pellegrini told BBC Sport.
"We played Champions League and then League Cup final and I saw team was not fresh and Liverpool played better.
"The last two days we work very light, just try to recover the players but from beginning they won all the balls and had a high pace - more pace than our team.
"We didn't attack well and create chances and didn't have fresh legs to play like we can.
"It seems like the Premier League continues being the same from the start and very close. We will continue fighting."
