Wembley spot part of ‘terrific’ week for City boss Guardiola
PEP Guardiola hailed a terrific week for City as the club reached their first final under the manager’s tenure.
A 3-2 win over Bristol City at Ashton Gate was enough to book a trip to Wembley against either Arsenal or Chelsea on February 25.
If that isn’t good enough news, the Blues boss was delighted to see more of his key players tied down to longterm contracts at the club.
City’s refusal to meet the demands of Alexis Sanchez, or his agent, has seen the Chilean move to United in what is seen as a coup for the Reds.
But the announcement that Kevin de Bruyne has committed his future to City went down extremely well, especially coming on the back of similar actions from David Silva, Nicolas Otamendi and Fernandinho.
Asked how pleased he was with the news, Guardiola replied: “You cannot imagine.
“It was a terrific week for us with David Silva, Nico, Fernandinho and yesterday Kevin.
“These four players are so important for us. We are so, so happy. “It is the highlight for us.” Trophies are essential if City are to keep hold of their best players, and Guardiola acknowledges silverware is the ultimate marker for how teams are remembered.
The side may have done well to reach Wembley, but the City manager was clear after the victory that they can improve.
While pleased with the performance of his team against Bristol City overall - and especially in last night’s second leg - he had words of warning for them after they allowed an unexpectedly tense finale.
Having done the hard work to score two goals and open up a three-goal advantage, the Blues conceded two to give the hosts a sniff of an almighty comeback in front of a packed crowd.
In the end, De Bruyne finished off an injury-time counter to kill the game off for good.
However, the coach is aware that such profligacy may come back to haunt them as the business end of the season approaches, and he wants the players to learn from their experience in their first two-legged tie of the campaign.
“We are so happy to be there, to reach this final,” he said.
“We played an amazing game until 2-0 and then we lost control, these type of games never end until the end.
“This is a lesson for next weekend in Cardiff in the FA Cup and especially for the Champions League.
“At 2-0 we knew it would be easier because they needed three or four goals, but with one minute left it was 2-2 and anything could happen.
“I know that we will be judged by trophies we win but we are so happy. Nobody can take away what we have done, but Chelsea or Arsenal are strong teams.”