No let-up for City with Wembley on the line: Pep

By the time Manchester City go to Stamford Bridge on April 5, the FA Cup may provide the sole remaining opportunity for Pep Guardiola to fulfil his desire to lift the trophy. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON • Pep Guardiola insists he is keeping all his options open as he pursues some silverware in his first season at Manchester City.

The Spaniard's side are still in contention in the Premier League and Champions League, but the City manager appears equally committed to success in the FA Cup.

Facing a quarter-final at Premier League strugglers Middlesbrough on Saturday, Guardiola admirably resisted the temptation to rest several of his most influential players with a Champions League trip to Monaco only four days away.

He was rewarded with a 2-0 victory that represented the ideal preparation for Wednesday's game where they lead 5-3 after the last-16 first leg, and a daunting run of Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea.

By the time they go to Stamford Bridge on April 5, the FA Cup may provide the sole remaining opportunity for Guardiola to fulfil his desire to lift the trophy that means City's season will not be considered a total failure.

His players displayed a similar passionate desire to make progress against Middlesbrough, who were indebted to their reserve goalkeeper Brad Guzan for a series of top saves either side of goals from David Silva and Sergio Aguero, two players he might have rested.

"No, I was not tempted to rest people. Today was a 'final' and I didn't want to sit here saying I am out of the cup," said Guardiola. "Now we need to take things step by step and see which rivals we are going to face in the semi-finals.

"This is a big step for us and now we must try to go back for the final after the semi-final because the cup is very important to us.

"I get excited a lot about going to Wembley because I remember the old and the new stadium. We are so happy to be there and we are there because of the way we played. I'm so pleased with our performance."

Middlesbrough's defeat removes a distraction for Aitor Karanka's team as they fight against relegation, but the manager senses that this could be a turning point.

"We have rediscovered our confidence in the way we approached the game," he said. "As a coach I can be proud of my players. We don't have individuals that other teams have and for that reason we have to be together and work hard every day."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on March 13, 2017, with the headline No let-up for City with Wembley on the line: Pep. Subscribe