Pep Guardiola said Manchester City would not have “even one beer” to celebrate Saturday’s 1-0 FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea due to the title race, though the manager was coy regarding his future.
Antoine Semenyo’s 72nd-minute backheel gave City a second trophy of the season at Wembley following April’s Carabao Cup win over Arsenal. Yet as City travel to Bournemouth for Tuesday’s penultimate Premier League match, the manager was clear there would be no celebrations due to the need to win to keep their challenge alive.
“Home [now] – not even one beer,” he said. “Next Monday after Aston Villa, we’re going to celebrate it with the women’s team. The club said that to me [with] some parade in Manchester because we must celebrate with both teams. There is no time [to celebrate].”
Arsenal, who host Burnley on Monday, are on 79 points, two ahead of City, who host Villa on the final Sunday. Amid questions about whether City can overhaul Arsenal to claim the seventh title of Guardiola’s tenure, there is growing expectation he will leave this summer. When asked about this he offered an opaque answer: “The moment the fire decreases, then we will go home. This year I have been really good. Last season was the toughest season for many reasons.”
Saturday’s win was the 20th piece of silverware in Guardiola’s decade in charge. He praised the FA Cup tradition and noted the fine margins in finals after losing the previous two. Of his goal, Semenyo said: “It has happened a couple of times in training – it happened perfectly today.” Chelsea manager Calum McFarlane believed his side should have had a penalty but acknowledged they went “toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the world”.
