Guardiola explains his mistakes as Man City lose FA Cup final

Pep Guardiola has taken full responsibility for Manchester City’s unexpected defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup final, citing his poor gameplan as the primary reason for the loss rather than their recent Premier League title celebrations.

City, who were aiming to become the first team in English football history to secure back-to-back doubles, were caught off guard by an outstanding performance from Manchester United at Wembley. Goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo gave United a commanding 2-0 lead by halftime, showcasing what was arguably their best 45 minutes of the season.

Despite Guardiola’s tactical adjustments in the second half, including the introduction of Manuel Akanji and Jeremy Doku, and pushing John Stones into midfield, City could only manage a late goal from Doku, which was not enough to overturn the deficit.

“Congratulations to Man United,” Guardiola said. “I think my gameplan in the first half was not good. The second half was much, much better; we were more intense, partly because we were 2-0 down and we didn’t have anything to lose.”

Guardiola elaborated on his tactical misjudgment, admitting, “Because of my decisions, we were not in the right positions to attack them.

It was my mistake, my gameplan was not good. The players know the reason why. Tactically, it was not good, I had a feeling it was not good. It didn’t work, as simple as that.”

City’s recent Premier League triumph, sealed with a 3-1 victory over West Ham on the final day, was not a factor in their sluggish start at Wembley, according to Guardiola. “No, completely the opposite, they were focused,” he asserted. “How we reacted in the second half was very good.”

Despite the disappointment of the FA Cup final, Guardiola and his team will proceed with their planned trophy parade in Manchester, celebrating their Premier League success.

Guardiola emphasized the importance of acknowledging their achievements, saying, “We are sad but we celebrate tomorrow an incredible achievement and come back, it’s as simple as that.

Now the feeling, of course, when you lose a final is that we’re disappointed. But we celebrate good this week and enjoy the Premier League. When you reach 91 points, it’s because we won a lot and the journey was really, really good. We have to be proud and celebrate what we’ve done.”