Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has come out to defended his side saying they did not end the season trophy less. He said they are only one of three English teams that could play in the Champions League next term to have claimed silverware.
Man City edged past rivals Manchester United on penalties in the Community Shield last August but have since endured a miserable campaign. On Saturday, their season suffered another low as they were beaten by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final.
It means for the first time in eight years, City will end a season without a major trophy. The manager however said its a lie as they won the Community Shield. According to Pep, he said: “Of course, it’s important to qualify, but except for Newcastle who won the Carabao Cup, Liverpool won the Premier League and Manchester City that won the Community Shield the other teams didn’t win trophies.”
Pep Guardiola also said: “So the other teams like Chelsea, who can win one title [Europa Conference League] against Real Betis, and [Manchester] United and Tottenham can win the Europa League.” “All the other teams, they are expecting of course to qualify for the Champions League but this is important for every club that play this in competition next year.”
“We played a really good [FA Cup] final, not enough to win it, and we have the last two games, we need four points to be in the Champions League next year and this is enough and everyone has to be aware of that.”
With Liverpool Premier League champions and Arsenal sealing second spot, City have a fight to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition. They will face Bournemouth on Tuesday (kick-off 20:00 BST), with the final round of games taking place on Sunday.
