Pep wants cup win to spur City on to more success
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola wants his side to use their Carabao Cup victory to spur them on to Premier League and Champions League glory.
City won the League Cup for a fourth successive year and joint record eighth time intotalwitha1-0winoverTottenham at Wembley on Sunday, which came courtesy of AymericLaporte’slateheader.
Guardiola’s side do not get much time to bask in their latest glory, though, as they meet Paris St Germain in the ChampionsLeaguesemi-final firstlegtomorrownight,while Manchester United’s draw with Leeds on Sunday moved them closer to another league title.
“We will rest and prepare for the semi-final first leg againstPSG.Afterthat,weare twogamesawayfromwinning the most important title.
“ThePremierLeagueisthe most important title, the one I am proud of the most. In this crazy schedule, between the gamesagainstPSG,we’lltryto
win the first one against Crystal Palace.
“We won the first one, we are close to a second one and we go to Paris to try for another one.”
Guardiola raised a few eyebrows with a strong team selection that included Kevin De Bruyne, who has just recovered from an ankle injury.
But the Spaniard did not
want to take any risks against Spurs having been beaten in last weekend’s FA Cup semifinal.
“We cannot deny one eye is always in the Champions League,” Guardiola added. “We are in the semi-final for only the second time, always one eye on that.
“But once we arrived at the final,andafterwhathappened
against Chelsea, we thought the best way to arrive for it.
“People said you picked a strongteambutIdon’tbelieve that – the people on the bench could play perfectly. When I play finals my first thought is the guys on the bench.
“We take every game seriously, otherwise it is impossible to win four Carabao Cups in a row.”
WhileCityenjoyedtheregulartasteofsuccess,itwasalso a familiar feeling of defeat on the big stage for Spurs, whose 13-year trophy drought continues.
They were second best against City and lost a third successive major final after defeats in the 2015 League Cup final and 2019 Champions League final.