Guardiola: FA Cup Win Won't Salvage City's Disappointing Season

Pep Guardiola believes FA Cup glory won't redeem Manchester City's underwhelming season. Get the latest updates on City's title chances.

Pep Guardiola believes FA Cup glory won't be enough to redeem Manchester City's underwhelming season. Despite reaching the FA Cup final, City's league campaign has been disappointing, allowing Liverpool to claim the Premier League title.

City's four-year dominance of the Premier League was threatened this season, and Liverpool ultimately seized the opportunity to win the title. Guardiola acknowledges that winning the FA Cup won't overshadow the team's overall poor performance this term.

Liverpool's title win coincided with Manchester City's FA Cup semi-final victory over Nottingham Forest, with City securing a 2-0 win at Wembley. Rico Lewis scored early, and Josko Gvardiol added a second-half goal, sending City to their third consecutive FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.

Despite reaching the FA Cup final and likely Champions League qualification, Pep Guardiola remains unsatisfied. When asked if these achievements would constitute a successful season, he firmly replied, “No, and I have said that many times.”

“This season has not been good. We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool, so come on, this season has not been good.

“Look at the Champions League. How many games did we win? One or two? And we have always been a machine in that.

“We cannot confuse that the season has been good if we finish in the top five and qualify for the Champions League.

“The club has to take the decisions, the right ones, for next season to be better.”

Manchester City's Premier League campaign has been lackluster, with the team 21 points behind leaders Liverpool. However, City's consistency in cup competitions has kept them in contention for silverware, reaching their third consecutive FA Cup final.

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— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 28, 2025

“We are very pleased we are in the final,” said Pep Guardiola, praising the team's resilience. “Being in another final speaks so highly about the volume of generation of players and this club.” Guardiola has previously won the FA Cup twice during his time at City.

“But the season is defined by the Premier League, and being consistent and this season that couldn't happen.

“The most important thing is qualification for the Champions League, and we have to be calm now and recover.”

Manchester City will face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final as favorites after a 5-2 win over Palace earlier in April. However, Pep Guardiola cautioned against overconfidence, impressed by Palace's 3-0 victory over Aston Villa in their semi-final.

“We have four finals to play, and then an unbelievable game against Palace, and we saw yesterday how good they are,” he said.

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— Manchester City (@ManCity) April 28, 2025