Pep Guardiola has emphasized to Manchester City that they must not be “confused” about their season, which has been deemed a success after reaching the FA Cup final.
Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol both scored as City defeated Nottingham Forest, securing a place in the final against Crystal Palace on Saturday, May 17.
This will mark their third consecutive FA Cup final and presents an opportunity for City to claim their eighth title in the competition, whereas Palace has never won a major trophy.
The FA Cup is City’s only chance for major silverware this season, aside from the Community Shield, as their streak of four straight Premier League titles ended with Liverpool being crowned champions on Sunday.
Currently sitting fourth in the table and 21 points behind the leaders, Arne Slot’s side, Guardiola cautioned that an FA Cup victory and a top-five finish to secure next season’s Champions League qualification will not be sufficient to mask what he considers a disappointing campaign.
“No,” he stated. “The damage would be minimal. It’s not going to confuse [the understanding that] the season has been good. The club needs to make the right decisions so that next season will be better.”
After starting the season with a 13-game unbeaten streak, City managed just one win in their next 13 matches across all competitions.
Following a 1-1 draw with Everton on Boxing Day, they fell to seventh place, but have since climbed back into Champions League contention.
Guardiola’s team also experienced their earliest exit from the Champions League in 12 years, having been eliminated by Real Madrid in the knockout stage in February.
Their form remained inconsistent, suffering a heavy 5-1 defeat to Arsenal in February and losing 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground in March.
However, City has shown resilience, winning six of their last seven matches, including a dramatic 2-1 victory over top-five rivals Aston Villa on Tuesday.
