Pep’s failing to make the grade
PEP GUARDIOLA said on the eve of this game that Manchester City’s Abu Dhabi owners would not have been satisfied with how his first season had panned out even if he had lifted the FA Cup. Well, Sheikh Mansour will be even unhappier now as Guardiola digests the lessons of his year here as a manager without winning a trophy. Spaniard Guardiola, left, knows his job is safe, of course, because he has been brought in for the long- term ‘ project’ and City have plenty of signs of exhilarating development in terms of style.
However, in the hard currency of trophies they have come up short and Guardiola’s predecessor Manuel Pellegrini, for one, will permit himself a wry smile. He was sacked despite winning the League Cup, guiding the club into their first Champions League semi- final as well as finishing fourth in the Premier League. He might have gone further in the FA Cup had he not fi elded a team of kids in a quarter- fi nal tie at Chelsea.
This season, City have gone out of the Champions League at the last 16 round, the League Cup at the fourth round stage and saw their FA Cup hopes evaporate in yesterday’s semi- fi nal.
And they are still battling to secure a top- four place in the Premier League, with Thursday’s Manchester derby against fifth- placed United now critical after Jose Mourinho’s team won at Burnley yesterday.
Guardiola had won on his two previous visits to Wembley – as a player in Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona ‘ dream team’ who lifted the European Cup in 1992 and as the manager of Barca in the Champions League final of 2011.
Yesterday, his hopes of making it a hat- trick did not go to plan as Arsenal showed uncharacteristic resilience to
come from a goal down to reach their third fi nal in four years and quieten Arsene Wenger’s growing army of detractors.
In truth, Wenger needed to win more to relieve some of the pressure on his shoulders. But Guardiola saw lifting the FA Cup as a chance to give his players confi dence so that they can go on and become serial trophy winners
He also knew it would help validate his assertion that City are making progress under his command despite fading in the domestic title race and their exit to Monaco in Europe.
But once again City’s defending came under scrutiny. It did not come as a great surprise that they could not hang on to the lead created by Sergio Aguero’s 62nd- minute goal. After all, they had not kept a clean sheet in any of their 11 matches against the Premier League’s top seven this season.
Arsenal’s fi rst goal was a cross from one wing- back to another – Nacho Monreal being left in splendid isolation at the far post to ram home Alex Oxlade- Chamberlain’s delivery.
And it was typical of Guardiola’s luck on the day that the extra- time winner came from a player he would love to sign this summer – Alexis Sanchez.
As auditions go, the Chile international had been poor and his strike owed more to Danny Welbeck’s mis- kick than his own skill.
But he was in the right place at the right time and put the Gunners in the fi nal on May 27 that could prove to be his farewell game for the club as he continues to stall over a new contract.
Guardiola freely admits he has been lucky in his managerial career to have inherited such great teams at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
He came to England to test himself and will be the fi rst to say that he has failed to meet the expectations.
Yesterday’s defeat means the pressure to deliver next season will be even more intense.