Pep Guardiola urges Manchester City players to seize treble chance

LONDON – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola urged his players to seize the opportunity of a lifetime after they beat arch-rivals Manchester United 2-1 at Wembley last Saturday.

Victory in the first-ever all-Manchester FA Cup final, secured by Ilkay Gundogan’s brace of volleyed goals, came hot on the heels of a fifth Premier League title in six seasons.

Guardiola joined Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson as the only managers to win the English double more than once, having also achieved it in the 2018-19 season.

He and his relentless players can now achieve sporting immortality on Saturday in Istanbul against Inter Milan, when City can be crowned Champions League winners for the first time and match United’s 1998-99 unique treble under Ferguson.

“One more to go and we feel that we are in a position we probably will never be in again,” said Guardiola, who has turned City into a domestic powerhouse since arriving in 2016, winning 11 trophies.

“Everything will not be complete if we don’t win the Champions League now.

“We have done some incredible seasons... Premier League to FA Cup to League Cup, but we have to win the Champions League to be recognised how the team deserve to be recognised.

“The players know what we have ahead of us... everyone after hugging, said: ‘One more to go’. We have to take our responsibility and we have to do it.”

City were not even at their fluent best against United in the Wembley showpiece in which Gundogan scored after 12 seconds – the fastest FA Cup final goal.

But they still had too much for Erik ten Hag’s side, who levelled via a Bruno Fernandes penalty in the 33rd minute and pressed late on but could have few complaints about the final result.

Guardiola was tearful at the final whistle as he embraced his celebrating players. But he quickly refocused on the bigger picture that is now looming large.

“To win the FA Cup the emotions are really special. Now is the first time I can talk about the treble... It is one game away,” said the Spaniard, who led Barcelona to a treble of La Liga, the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in 2008-09.

“I’m thinking about what we have to do to beat Inter. I spoke with the players many times – focus on what we need to do to beat Inter.”

The one cloud on the horizon for City is Gundogan’s potential move away this summer, with Barcelona and Arsenal showing interest.

The 32-year-old German midfielder remains an irreplaceable component in Guardiola’s squad and once again showed his knack of scoring crucial goals.

He also scored braces in vital Premier League wins over Everton and Leeds United, as City relentlessly reeled in Arsenal over the final weeks of the season.

Asked about Gundogan’s future, Guardiola said: “(Football director) Txiki (Begiristain) is doing it. Hopefully he will be successful. I hope so.

“He (Gundogan) knows what I think (of him). He has a special mentality, there is no doubt.”
REUTERS, AFP