{"id":9589,"date":"2026-05-17T08:26:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T08:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9589"},"modified":"2026-05-17T08:26:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T08:26:34","slug":"guardiola-says-no-time-to-celebrate-fa-cup-win-with-league-title-still-to-play-for-fa-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/?p=9589","title":{"rendered":"Guardiola says \u2018no time\u2019 to celebrate FA Cup win with league title still to play for | FA Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Pep Guardiola said Manchester City would not have \u201ceven one beer\u201d to celebrate Saturday\u2019s 1-0 FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea due to the title race, though the manager was coy regarding his future.<\/p>\n

Antoine Semenyo\u2019s 72nd-minute backheel gave City a second trophy of the season at Wembley following April\u2019s Carabao Cup win over Arsenal.<\/p>\n

Yet as City travel to Bournemouth for Tuesday\u2019s penultimate Premier League match the manager was clear there would be no celebrations due to the need to win to keep their challenge alive.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHome (now) \u2013 not even one beer,\u201d he said. \u201cNext Monday after Aston Villa, we\u2019re going to celebrate it with the women\u2019s team. The club said that to me (with) some parade in Manchester because we must celebrate with both teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no time (to celebrate). Chelsea had seven days to prepare for the final, we had three days and yesterday (Friday) was a nightmare. We spent six hours from the city to here. The trains are a little bit of a problem in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arsenal, who host Burnley on Monday, are on 79 points, two ahead of City, who host Villa on the final Sunday, with the leaders travelling to Crystal Palace. Amid questions about whether or not City can overhaul Arsenal to claim the seventh title of Guardiola\u2019s tenure, there is growing expectation he will leave this summer.<\/p>\n

When asked about this he offered an opaque answer. \u201cThe moment the fire decreases, then we will go home. I am a funny guy,\u201d he said. \u201cThis year I have been really good. Last season was the toughest season for many reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s win was the 20th piece of silverware in Guardiola\u2019s decade in charge, including three Community Shields. City lost the past two FA Cup finals and Guardiola spoke of officiating being decisive.<\/p>\n

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He said: \u201cI had a feeling last season against Palace and two seasons before against United that we were better than today, but in these type of games the margins were so minor. The decisions always make the difference and now I\u2019m sitting here as the winner. Otherwise it would be Calum (McFarlane).<\/p>\n

\u201cThis trophy is really cool, really special for its tradition and after the two defeats, back to Manchester with it is nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of his goal, Semenyo said: \u201cIt has happened a couple of times in training \u2013 it happened perfectly today. Everything happened so fast. It came straight to me and I had to improvise as quickly as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Semenyo joined City from Bournemouth in January and has now won the Carabao Cup and FA Cup. He said: \u201cI have never competed for trophies like this before, so everything is new. Hopefully, we can finish the job off (in the league).<\/p>\n

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