Pep Guardiola seeks redemption as Man City head to Bournemouth in FA Cup q-finals
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
A third FA Cup triumph in the Pep Guardiola era would at least salvage a little pride in what has been a poor season for Manchester City.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LONDON – Pep Guardiola takes Manchester City back to Bournemouth in the FA Cup quarter-finals on March 30, hoping to avenge the defeat that sparked their stunning decline this season.
City’s 32-game unbeaten run in the English Premier League came to a shock end when they were beaten 2-1 at the Cherries’ home ground in November.
Coming just days after a League Cup last-16 exit at Tottenham Hotspur, it was the first time they had lost successive games in all competitions since September 2023.
Guardiola’s side, champions for the previous four seasons, surrendered pole position in the Premier League to Liverpool as a result of their loss at the Vitality Stadium and won only once in their next 11 games in all competitions.
Looking back at City’s first-ever defeat by Bournemouth, Guardiola – whose team are fifth in the league – acknowledged he could see the signs of their impending collapse.
“It was our first defeat in the Premier League this season. We have to learn from it and try to reach the semi-finals,” he said on March 28.
“That was the first game where we were a little bit not competitive in terms of the standards we required. The game before we lost in the (League) Cup against Spurs. We were good there. But I could not turn around the symptoms that the (Bournemouth) game started, in terms of being present and winning duels.
“I tried for many months. This time it took more time.”
With their dynastic reign over English football suddenly fading, City have been reduced to fighting to qualify for next season’s Champions League, while a third FA Cup triumph in the Guardiola era would salvage a little pride.
“The target is to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for seven years in a row, then after that we have to win games to qualify for the Champions League,” Guardiola added.
“In the good moments you learn and in the bad moments you learn. When experiences happen, if you don’t learn they will happen again. When I said in the past Champions League qualification was a huge success, people didn’t believe me. Now they believe me.”
After FA Cup final victories over Watford in 2019 and Manchester United in 2023, Guardiola could become only the eighth manager to win the trophy three times.
It may be difficult now based on his team’s form, but he is aiming high nonetheless.
“Of course with the season we have, to come back to Wembley, with the chance to reach the final, that would be nice. We take the FA Cup seriously like the League Cup in the past when we won it four times in a row,” said the Spaniard, whose team lost to United in the 2024 final.
Asked if Rodri could return in time for the FA Cup final or the Club World Cup in June and July, Guardiola refused to give a timeline for the Spanish midfielder’s recovery.
Rodri was expected to miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in September, but the Ballon d’Or winner has been training with City recently.
“Listen, it would be nice if he could play tomorrow but it is the wrong decision right now. He is behaving on the pitch really well, but competition is different. We have to be sure he is fine before he is involved,” Guardiola said.
Turning his attention away from the FA Cup, the City boss also said that his players and staff do not deserve any performance bonuses that may come their way from the Club World Cup.
The total prize pot for the competition is US$1 billion (S$1.34 billion) while the winners of the 32-team tournament to be held in the United States will earn up to US$125 million, but Guardiola does not want a single penny.
“We don’t deserve a bonus this season. If we win, it will go to the club. The manager, backroom staff and players don’t deserve it. Not even a watch,” he insisted.
In the other quarter-final on March 30, Preston North End, who host Aston Villa, are bidding to become the first club outside the top flight to make it to the FA Cup final since Cardiff City in 2008.
Sitting 14th in the Championship table, they will hope a passionate crowd at Deepdale will help them stun a Villa team who have reached the last eight for the first time since 2015, when they went all the way to reach the final and lose to Arsenal.
AFP, REUTERS
