Manchester City coach, Pep Guardiola, expressed his happiness after his team’s 3-0 victory over Sheffield United, of the second division, to end their series of losses in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.
Guardiola made six changes to his starting line-up, which drew Bayern Munich in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. Riyad Mahrez scored three goals to lead his team to the final, where they will face local rivals Manchester United, or Brighton & Hove Albion.
Guardiola said in a press conference after the victory: “It is the fourth time in a row that we have reached this stage (semi-final). We have not been able to pass it in the last three times against Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.”
He continued, “We performed well. This match was followed by the Bayern confrontation, and we talked about the need to try again to perform well, and all the players did well, the players who participated as substitutes .. everyone was perfect.
Guardiola indicated that he was “happy” that his team had reached the FA Cup final for the first time, since winning the title for the sixth time in 2019.
Guardiola highlighted the role of Mahrez, who did not participate in the two Bayern matches in the Champions League.
“He’s always mad at me when he’s not playing,” he said. All the time, he makes me notice his frown.. It wasn’t like that today. He is an exceptional player and his level was exceptional .. He is a player for the big dates with the mentality required to score goals.”
2023-04-23 22:40:50
#Guardiola #praises #Riyad #Mahrez #exceptional #player
