Pep Guardiola hopes Manchester City’s FA Cup final victory against Chelsea can help propel them to a miraculous English Premier League title triumph.
Guardiola’s side on Saturday won the FA Cup for the first time since 2023 thanks to Antoine Semenyo’s audacious back-flicked goal in the second half at Wembley.
The 1-0 win made it a domestic double for City, who beat Arsenal in the English League Cup final in March.
Photo: AFP
Now City can focus on their last two games of the league season as they look to catch leaders Arsenal.
The Gunners are firm favorites to be crowned champions and would wrap up the title if they beat Burnley today and win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
However, second-placed City, just two points behind Arsenal, are lying in wait if Mikel Arteta’s team slip up.
If City win at AFC Bournemouth and beat Aston Villa at home on the final day, they could take the title if Arsenal drop points their matches.
With that in mind, Guardiola was quick to put the celebrations on ice after the 20th trophy of his glittering 10-year reign was wrapped up at Wembley.
“Home — not even one beer,” he said of halting the party in City’s dressing room. “Next Monday, after Aston Villa, we’re going to celebrate with the women’s team with a parade in Manchester, but no, we do not have time now.”
“We have only three days [before Bournemouth]. Chelsea had seven days to prepare for the final. We had three days and yesterday was a nightmare,” he said. “We spent literally six hours getting from Manchester to here. The trains are a little bit of a problem in this country. Six hours.”
Having guided City to the title six times in past eight years, Guardiola knows it would take a remarkable turnaround to snatch the trophy from Arsenal’s grasp.
However, regardless of the conclusion of the title race, Guardiola is confident City are in better shape than 12 months ago when they finished last season without silverware.
Guardiola believes the key contributions of Semenyo and Marc Guehi, signed from Bournemouth and Crystal Palace respectively during the January transfer window — along with the development of Matheus Nunes, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico O’Reilly — shows City can return to the top next term.
“I took time to click something. I missed something during the process. We had the feeling in the last few months that we had some stability with the team that we maybe didn’t have in the past,” he said. “There were a lot of new players, injured players. Sometimes you need a little more time, but the highest competition doesn’t wait.”
“In the Champions League we lost to a really, really good opponent in Real Madrid, but in the rest of the competitions we behaved extraordinary. The future is bright,” he said. “I know the guys. I know how they feel, the commitment for the club. I’m pretty sure we will be there for the next years.”
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