Manchester City scored a dramatic late winner against Aston Villa to stimulate their hope for Champions League football next season, but Pep Guardiola says it has been a “bad” season for the club
Pep Guardiola offered a surprise reaction to the victory of Manchester City on Aston Villa, which suggests that they followed in the footsteps of Liverpool by claiming the late victory. Matheus Nunes converted the cross of replacement Jeremy Doku to secure a vital three points in the race for a place in the top five.
Nunes scored a 94th minute winner to put the city in line for the claim of Champions League prior to Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Chelsea and Villa. And Guardiola was unbelief when he hoped to avoid the defeat when the game entered the last phases.
The home team had taken the lead by Bernardo Silva, before Marcus Rashford focused the score with a controversial fine. But it was nunes who left an overwhelmed Guardiola who pumped his fist when they won a dramatic victory.
However, the Catalan coach also created a dose of reality, because he reminded his team that the joy is not coming close to what has been a terrible season at the moment.
“We are not used to it!” Guardiola told Sky Sports. “The last minute wins to Liverpool.
“We are not used to it, so I am really happy. We are in the last four games, we know Champions League opportunities such as Aston Villa, they are one of the top teams in Europe.
“We played very well. Aggressive in our duels and four were incredible. Really satisfied.
“Football is emotion. The last two games were so difficult, so we are really satisfied. I was so happy. I have to admit it! Try not to lose because 1-1 was not a bad result, but Jeremy's action was not a bad result [Doku] Was so good.
“The team has fought a lot. The performance was really good. It is a fantastic team. The season has been bad. It doesn't matter if we end in Champions League.
“What you feel good is the Premier League. It happened and sometimes you have bad seasons. Liverpool becomes champion and the level of teams is excellent.”
Defender Ruben Dias commented on the importance of victory on their Premier League rivals. The Portuguese star noted that securing Champions League football is of greater importance than the FA Cup.
Dias said: “They are with us on the top five. Special game to get three points. Four games to go and they will all be enormously important. We will continue.
“We know how tight it is and how tight it will be to the end. I cannot quantify how important today was.
“This means everything for us. We know exactly what circumstances we are, top four or five means everything. This is our most important trophy. We have the FA Cup and Club World Cup, but this is all for us.”
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