Pep Guardiola says that Manchester City's season has been “bad”, regardless of whether they reach Champions League qualification or win the FA Cup.
After the dramatic 2-1 victory from his side on Aston Villa, Guardiola gave a sense of frustration about how the city's season was out.
Matheus Nunes scored a final gasp winner in injury time to seal a huge victory on Tuesday. Bernardo Silva had put the city first, so Emiliano Martinez had spilled the ball in his own net with a clean attack.
Shortly thereafter, Marcus Rashford equalized the penalty spot for Villa, although the late intervention of Nunes brought the city in pole position to secure a top five finish.
Guardiola spoke with Sky Sports after the game after the game, although he insisted that the season of the city had been bad.
“We played really well. We were aggressive in our duels, the rear four were incredible. Really satisfied,” said Guardiola.
“Football is emotion. For fans, players, we are very busy going to the Champions League for the club.
“I was so happy. I have to admit it! I tried not to lose it because 1-1 was not a bad result, but the action of Jeremy [Doku] Was so good.
“The team has fought a lot. The performance was really good. This is a fantastic team. But the season has been bad. It doesn't matter to the [FA Cup] Final or if we end in Champions League. “
But Guardiola accepted that it is normal for teams to suffer bad seasons.
“The reality is what gives you a good feeling is [winning] The Premier League, “he said.
“But it happens, sometimes you have bad seasons. Liverpool becomes champion and the level of teams is excellent.”
That meant everything !!! pic.twitter.com/cpnhstpprq
– Manchester City (@Mancity) April 22, 2025
Ruben Dias reflected the feelings of his manager and emphasized that the Premier League is the greatest priority of the club.
“They are fleeing with us to this top five and it was a special game to get the three points,” the Portuguese told Sky Sports.
“There are still four games to go and they will all be extremely important. Today it was important to get the three points.
“We know how tight it is and how tight it will be to the end. This is a huge step for us.
“It means everything for us. We know exactly the circumstances in which we find themselves. Top four and top five means everything to us. This is our Premier League.”
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega from Manchester City also praised the performance on his part, in the conviction that they deserved the victory completely.
“This is a hugely important victory for us. The situation on the table before this game was really tight and it is still,” he said.
“So it was really important to get the three points. I felt in the game in general, we deserved it completely to win today. The way we played and the energy we had, we deserved it completely.”
When asked whether Tuesday's victory will give his side a big boost for their FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, the German added: “Yes, it gives us a boost. This season was really difficult.
“Especially now in the last few weeks of the season, we started to get the energy back and everyone is playing well and now you can see what we can do.
“The goal is to end up as well as possible this season and to qualify for the Champions League.”