Pep Guardiola has remarked that securing the FA Cup won’t sufficiently remedy Manchester City’s challenging season, even after reaching the final, coinciding with Liverpool’s claim of the Premier League title.
Having enjoyed four consecutive seasons as English champions, Guardiola’s outfit fell short this term, paving the way for Liverpool to clinch a record-equalling 20th top-flight title.
The Reds confirmed their triumph with a 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham, which concluded just as the full-time whistle was blown at Wembley, signalling City’s 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Rico Lewis opened the scoring in just 109 seconds, while Josko Gvardiol doubled City’s lead in the second half.
City is set to meet Crystal Palace in their third consecutive FA Cup final on May 17th.
Currently sitting in fourth place, Guardiola’s side is also on track to secure a Champions League spot with a top five finish in the Premier League.
However, when the notion of FA Cup success along with Champions League qualification being deemed a “successful” season was presented to him, Guardiola responded: “No, and I have mentioned this numerous times.”
“This season hasn’t been good. We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool, so let’s be honest, this season hasn’t been satisfactory.”
“Look at the Champions League. How many matches did we win? One or two? We have always been a powerhouse in that competition.”
“We cannot mistake a top five finish and Champions League qualification for a good season.”
“The club must make the appropriate decisions to ensure next season is better.”
City trails Liverpool by 21 points in the league and is just one point ahead of Chelsea and Forest, both of whom have a game in hand in the chase for the top five.
“Reaching another final highlights the strength of our player development and the essence of this club. We are genuinely pleased to be in the final,” Guardiola noted, having twice lifted the FA Cup during his tenure at City.
“However, the season is ultimately defined by the Premier League, where consistency was not achieved this year.”
“The priority is securing Champions League qualification, and we need to remain calm and focused.”
City will be the favourites heading into the final, having previously defeated Palace 5-2 at the Etihad Stadium in early April.
Yet, Guardiola acknowledged Palace’s impressive 3-0 win against Aston Villa in the semi-final on Saturday, cautioning against complacency.
“We have four finals ahead and a fantastic match against Palace, and we witnessed their quality yesterday,” he stated.
Compiled by SportArena.com.au.
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