Pep Guardiola urges his facet to refocus on Champions League qualification

Pep Guardiola has made it transparent Manchester City must “recover quick” from Saturday’s FA Cup ultimate defeat in opposition to Crystal Palace, with the executive mentioning Champions League qualification is “massive”.

City will finish the season and not using a trophy after their 1-0 defeat at Wembley, however they wish to transfer on briefly given they face Bournemouth on the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday of their penultimate Premier League recreation.

City pass into the fit in 6th on 65 issues, one level and one position in the back of Aston Villa, who dangle the overall Champions League-qualifying berth. They end the season at Fulham subsequent Sunday.

“We don’t have much time to recover for an important game against Bournemouth [but] we have to recover quick, we’re a big club,” Guardiola stated. “We have two massive important games for the future of this club. The Champions League is massive. It’s obvious. Ask Arsenal, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle or Aston Villa.

“But now is not the time to talk to the players and get into their minds. Sunday is recovery, then [think about the Bournemouth] game and we will see how we prepare, see how the players recover and go from there.”

Guardiola stated City carried out smartly in opposition to Palace. “There is disappointment when we lose and don’t play well – you are sad but, in the end, you don’t deserve to win. But when you play the way we did – the players gave absolutely everything, we created a lot of chances.

“But this game is about scoring goals so if you don’t score, you must defend. We didn’t defend, we didn’t score, so congratulations to Crystal Palace.

“Of course it’s better to play against Bournemouth after winning the FA Cup. Wins help winning but now we have to prove how strong we are with our people.

“When we play badly, I’m always here to say: ‘We don’t deserve it.’ It happened last season against Manchester United [in the 2024 FA Cup final]; we didn’t play well. But this year I don’t have this feeling. I don’t have any regrets.”