“I don’t have any disappointment and regret. We don’t deserve to be there. Enjoy football, the fantastic games that were at Anfield or in Paris, the competitiveness in Madrid, how good Barcelona is playing all season, the way they played for 65, 70 minutes against Benfica,” Guardiola said. Source link
Back in 2016, Manchester City’s Under-18s had an exciting attack consisting of Phil Foden, Brahim Diaz and Jadon Sancho. One is already a Champions League winner, and another will follow on Saturday night. Add Felix Nmecha, who graduated from the City Football Academy a year or two later than the more recognisable trio, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, and there will be four City representatives in Saturday’s showpiece at Wembley. Nmecha was released by City in 2021 in order to boost his career prospects, with his progress at Wolfsburg and Dortmund perhaps a sign they could have earned some profit from him. Sancho’s path is well documented, making the leap to Dortmund where he made his name, before an ill-fated move to Manchester United and now a loan move back to Germany. City have profited by around £20m over the course of his post-City career. ALSO READ: I left Man City and Pep Guardiola said my exit was ‘perfect’ – but I found the right club ALSO READ: Man City face impending transfer issue that will impact …
LONDON: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he does not “spend one second” thinking about referees as he prepares to face Nottingham Forest following the relegation-threatened club’s stinging criticism of match officials. Forest were furious not to be awarded three penalties during last weekend’s 2-0 Premier League loss at Everton and made headlines by releasing a series of strong statements about the incidents. But Guardiola, who takes his title-chasing side to the City Ground on Sunday, feels that being preoccupied with refereeing appointments is a waste of his time. “I go to the game and I never ever know who is the referee,” he said. “When I see their face, it’s ‘oh, I remember that face’. I never in my life talk about the referees before, during or after – never ever, ever. “A mistake can be a mistake and we are sad, and when it’s in our favour we are lucky. “But I don’t waste my time. I have to economise, I have to choose with my time exactly what I have to do. …
LONDON : Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola lashed out at the FA Cup schedule after his side beat Chelsea 1-0 to reach the final on Saturday, three days after their treble bid was ended by defeat on penalties by Real Madrid in the Champions League. A late goal by Bernardo Silva got holders City over the line although they rode their luck against a Chelsea side who were punished for not taking the numerous chances they created. City, who were without fatigued striker Erling Haaland, lacked their usual zip and, despite reaching another final, Guardiola was clearly agitated at his side’s lack of recovery time after the heartache of Wednesday’s Champions League exit. “It’s unacceptable to let us play today,” Guardiola said. “It’s impossible, for the health of the players. It’s not normal. It’s unacceptable. 120 minutes, the emotions of Madrid, the way we lose, honestly. “I know this country is special (with the FA Cup) but it’s for the health of the players. I don’t understand how we survived today.” Guardiola could not fathom …
MANCHESTER, England : Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is uncertain whether Erling Haaland will feature in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea after his prolific striker asked to leave Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final with a muscle injury. Guardiola subbed both Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne off ahead of extra time in a surprise move in City’s penalty shootout loss to Real Madrid that extinguished their hopes of capturing the treble for a second successive season. “Erling felt something, a muscular issue,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday. “We will see. “Kevin felt exhausted, so tired, after five months out injured (at the start of the season), so that’s normal.” It is not surprising, Guardiola added, that his players are feeling the effects of a gruelling schedule, which is a byproduct of the team’s success. “It’s normal, with the amount of games we’ve played this season and in the previous seasons,” the Spaniard said. “There’s not much time for recovery, we played extra time and the intensity we play. We are not machines, the fatigue is there.” …
Pep Guardiola claimed he had “no regrets” after Manchester City’s dream of a double-treble ended in the heartbreak of a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat by Real Madrid on a night when Arsenal also crashed out of the Champions League, their 1-0 loss at Bayern Munich consigning them to a 3-2 aggregate defeat. City came from behind in their quarter-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium, Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute strike cancelling out Rodrygo’s opener early in the first half. Yet despite the holders dominating possession, Real held on until the end of extra time and eventually prevailed from the spot. Julian Álvarez scored City’s first penalty before Luka Modric missed for the visitors. That felt like an early, decisive moment but Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovacic failed to convert City’s next two. The remaining kicks all proved successful, with Antonio Rüdiger striking the winning penalty for the 14-time champions. Pep Guardiola offered congratulations to Real and said City should have beaten Real before the shootout. “It is what is – sometimes you win on penalties …
(Refiles amending day of week to Tuesday in paragraph four) By Lori Ewing MANCHESTER, England :While Manchester City midfielder Bernando Silva said he and his team mates are motivated by the possibility of winning their second consecutive treble, manager Pep Guardiola cautioned against dreaming too far ahead. City host Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie on Wednesday at the Etihad having overcome them in the semi-finals last season on their way to winning the competition for the first time. They also lead the Premier League standings and are in the final four of the FA Cup. “I am not going to say ‘don’t feel this’ to my players, but I have a different opinion. We are far away from those hypothetical dreams,” Guardiola told reporters on Tuesday. “When we are in the final of the FA Cup and two or three games (remaining) in the Premier League and in the final of the Champions League I will start to think about that. “I started to think of the treble …
Real Madrid are a different side compared to last season thanks to midfielder Jude Bellingham’s “obvious” impact, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said after his side were drawn to face the LaLiga club in the Champions League quarter-finals. Holders City beat the 14-time Champions League winners in the Champions League semi-finals last season, drawing 1-1 away and securing a thumping 4-0 win at the Etihad in the second leg. Bellingham, who joined Real from Borussia Dortmund in July for a fee of around 103 million euros ($112.1 million), has scored 20 goals and set up nine for the Spanish side across all competitions this season. Asked about the leading LaLiga goalscorer, the City manager told reporters on Friday: “(Bellingham’s) impact has been massive. It’s a different team from last season. His influence is obvious, and we have to try to discover what he does to control it. “Facing Real Madrid is always a tough challenge, nobody can deny it. They are an exceptional club, and in this competition they can control many things with the …
Our cartoonist gazes into his crystal ball to foresee future reminiscing between the Liverpool and Manchester City managers Get yourself a copy of his cartoons in the Guardian Print Store Like what David does? Consider supporting our journalism Continue reading… Source link
At times during the opening hour of this game it might have seemed to a casual observer that Phil Foden had walked on to the pitch with a handler in tow; perhaps some tolerant elderly relative, there to stand close but not really that close, to chase dutifully, prepared to let him show off his twinkly footwork, like some weary Sunday morning dad scrolling his phone in the park. In the event this turned out to be Victor Lindelöf, Manchester United’s stand-in left-back, who did his best to track and chase and non-specifically hinder Manchester City’s outstanding attacker in what was, ultimately, a neck-crickingly one-sided 3-1 victory. This was a thankless security detail. Even with United’s deep-set midfield filling the spaces, Lindelöf simply didn’t have the physical capacity to stop this full-bore, mid-season version of Foden, who is just a different style of human, his feet moving too quickly, the tendons set to a different level of twang. Perhaps Erik ten Hag might have acted earlier, done more to cover an outmatched duel. But Lindelöf was still …
