Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City’s season cannot be considered successful, even if they lift the FA Cup and secure Champions League qualification.
City reached their third consecutive FA Cup final with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Wembley on Saturday, thanks to goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol. However, the celebrations were muted as Liverpool simultaneously sealed the Premier League title with a dominant 5-1 victory over Tottenham, ending City’s four-year reign as champions.
Speaking after the match, Guardiola dismissed the idea that an FA Cup triumph and a top-five league finish would salvage their troubled campaign.
“This season has not been good,” Guardiola said. “We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool, so come on, this season has not been good.”
City sit fourth in the Premier League, just one point ahead of Chelsea and Nottingham Forest — both of whom have a game in hand — in the race for Champions League spots. Guardiola also lamented their underwhelming form in Europe, noting, “Look at the Champions League. How many games did we win? One or two? We have always been a machine in that.”
Despite reaching another domestic final, Guardiola stressed the need for major improvements next season: “The club has to take the decisions, the right ones, for next season to be better.”
City will face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final on May 17. Although City recently beat Palace 5-2 in the league, Guardiola urged caution after Palace’s impressive 3-0 semi-final win over Aston Villa.
“We have four finals to play, and then an unbelievable game against Palace,” he said. “We saw yesterday how good they are.”
For now, Guardiola’s focus remains on securing Champions League qualification before turning attention to Wembley.
