Pep Guardiola hailed his ‘extraordinary’ Manchester City players after they secured his 20th trophy at the club with a 1-0 win over Chelsea in Saturday’s FA Cup final at Wembley.
A cagey final came to life on 72 minutes, when Antoine Semenyo broke the deadlock with a clever back-heeled finish from Erling Haaland’s cross into the box.
Interim Chelsea boss Calum McFarlane’s Blues huffed and puffed in their search of an equaliser, with Rodri clearing away a goal-bound header from Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez flicking a close-range effort onto the roof of the net.
McFarlane felt Chelsea should have had a penalty for Abdoukodir Khusanov’s shove on Jorrel Hato.
But Man City’s defence stood strong to ensure Guardiola added another trophy to his impressive collection.
Hungry for more success
The Man City boss also hinted that he is hungry for more success at the Etihad Stadium, with rumours having linked him with a departure at the end of the season.
The former Barcelona boss, who had suffered back-to-back FA Cup final defeats before seeing off Chelsea, said on Sky Sports: “I had the feeling last season against Crystal Palace and two seasons ago against Manchester United we were better than today, in terms of it was more clear what we had to do.
“But these type of games, like last season, the margins are so minor. Maybe they are penalties [for Chelsea]. Last season [should have been] a red card [for Dean] Henderson.
“This trophy is really, really cool! Really special for the tradition. And after our two defeats, to take it back to Manchester is nice.”
Time to click
Guardiola added: “I took time to click something, I missed something during the process.
“I made a lot of different shapes and pressing. This player with the other player.
“We had the feeling in the last two months, I felt a stability in the team like I didn’t find maybe in the past.
“But it’s normal because a lot of new players, injured players and sometimes you need a little bit more time. But the highest competitions don’t wait.
“But top eight in the Champions League, we found one of the toughest opponents. Real Madrid is always a really, really difficult opponent.
“But the rest of the competitions we have behaved extraordinarily.
“The future is bright. I know the guys, I know how they feel, the commitment for the club, very professional. I’m pretty sure we’ll be there in the next years.”
Evenly-matched final
McFarlane said: “I thought it was [an] evenly-matched game. Both teams had momentum at different times. Two really good sides.
“Congratulations to Man City. Disappointing result.
“In terms of the penalty incidents, the Hato and Khusanov collision is a penalty. Jorrel gets in front and anywhere else on the pitch, that’s a foul.”
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Alonso named new Chelsea manager
On Sunday, it was confirmed that Xabi Alonso had agreed to become Chelsea manager on a four-year contract.
The former Real Madrid boss will take charge at Stamford Bridge on July 1 – and told the club’s official website: “Chelsea is one of the biggest clubs in world football and it fills me with immense pride to become manager of this great club.
“From my conversations with the ownership group and sporting leadership, it is clear we share the same ambition.
“We want to build a team capable of competing consistently at the highest level and fighting for trophies.
“There is great talent in the squad and huge potential at this football club and it will be my great honour to lead it.
“Now the focus is on hard work, building the right culture and winning trophies.”
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