Pep Guardiola has shouldered responsibility for Manchester City’s shock FA Cup final defeat to Manchester United, insisting his gameplan – not the Premier League title celebrations – was to blame. City arrived at Wembley aiming to become the first English side to secure back-to-back doubles, but were stunned by a superb first-half display from their rivals.
Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo scored to give United a 2-0 lead at the interval, leaving City shell-shocked. Guardiola’s side improved after the break, with Jeremy Doku pulling a goal back late on, but it was not enough to spark a comeback. The Spaniard admitted his tactical approach in the first period was flawed.
“I think my gameplan in the first-half was not good,” Guardiola said. “The second-half was much, much better, we were more intense, partly because we were 2-0 down and we didn’t have anything to lose.” He added: “Because of my decisions, we were not in the right positions to attack them. It was my mistake, my gameplan was not good.”
Despite City wrapping up a fourth consecutive Premier League title last weekend, Guardiola dismissed suggestions the celebrations had distracted his players. “No, completely the opposite, they were focused,” he said. “How we reacted in the second-half was very good.”
City will still hold a trophy parade on Sunday to mark their league triumph. “We are sad but we celebrate tomorrow an incredible achievement and come back,” Guardiola said. “When you reach 91 points, it’s because we won a lot. We have to be proud.”
