Pep Guardiola says Manchester City have ‘four finals’ in Champions League race
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Pep Guardiola applauding the fans following the 2-0 FA Cup semi-final win over Nottingham Forest at Wembley Stadium on April 27.
PHOTO: AFP
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LONDON – Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was in little mood to dwell on reaching a third successive FA Cup final after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 on April 27, with his thoughts quickly turning to the race to secure Champions League football next term.
The all-conquering City machine went haywire earlier this season.
Guardiola’s men lost five straight games and nine of 12 in all competitions from the end of October to leave them well off the pace in the English Premier League.
City have recently found something approaching their best form, putting together a six-game unbeaten run in the league to give them a good chance of finishing in the top five and guarantee a place in Europe’s premier club competition.
But Guardiola said a return to the Champions League and another FA Cup final would still not make up for a disappointing season, telling reporters that City’s success would always be measured by their league performance.
He also joked that City were “a thousand, million points behind Liverpool”, who were crowned Premier League champions on April 27 with four games to spare.
But the Spanish manager urged his players to focus on what could be salvaged from this campaign, starting with the May 2 game against a resurgent Wolverhampton Wanderers, which Guardiola described as the first of “four finals” in the league.
“The most important thing (is) qualification for the Champions League. We have to be calm now,” he told reporters.
Guardiola also welcomed City receiving a few slices of luck in the closing stages of their semi-final victory over Forest, who struck the woodwork three times through Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi.
“A few months ago, the (shots) go inside, that’s for sure,” he told ITV. “Everything is in the head, in the minds of the players.”
Gibbs-White added: “I’m devastated. I feel sorry for the fans. I hold my hands up and apologise. I should’ve scored at least one of them.”
While Guardiola will count this season as a failure even with another FA Cup triumph, their rivals may be concerned if City can add some good fortune to their returning good form.
City will face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on May 17, after the Eagles beat Aston Villa 3-0 in their semi-final on April 26.
On April 27, Rico Lewis scored inside two minutes when he was fed by the influential Mateo Kovacic and given time and space to fire into the bottom corner and silence the Forest fans.
The half-time introduction of Anthony Elanga almost turned the tie for Forest, but he scuffed Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross wide with his first touch in the 46th minute.
City punished the miss five minutes later when Josko Gvardiol rose highest to nod home an Omar Marmoush corner for his sixth goal of the campaign. REUTERS
