Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said that even though his team is guaranteed of not winning the Premier League this season, his team, however, deserve to win the Carabao Cup.
The Citizens can lift a third consecutive Carabao Cup when they face Aston Villa in the final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday and according to Guardiola, his team’s courage and bravery are what set them apart to win every game.
According to the Spaniard, his team will compete to win the Champions League and FA after losing out on the Premier League crown this season as they sit 22 points behind Liverpool. Guardiola feels it would be the right reward for the respect his side has shown their opponents throughout the tournament.
“The Carabao Cup is not the same as the Premier League and I would prefer to be winning the Premier League, but at the same time it is a good competition,” the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss said.
“I remember the first game when we were at Preston and we used Eric [García] and Taylor [Harwood-Bellis] and they played to win the game.
“That is what I like of my teams, it happens all the time. There is not one opponent that can say they faced one of my teams, Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Barcelona, and we didn’t try to win.
“It takes courage and bravery to try to win all the time. Sometimes we have to defend more or use more long balls but that is only because we are up against a good opponent, not because we want to.”
The City manager noted that there is more work to be done in the Champions League after he was commended this week after his side came from behind to beat Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
“The margins between victory and defeat in that game were so tiny,” he said.
“It was the same with Tottenham last season and the season before that with Liverpool. In Madrid, Sergio Ramos had a chance to make it 2-0 and if he scores Zidane is a genius and I am a disaster.
“Forget about tactics, the manager who wins is a genius and the one who loses is a disaster. I make decisions, that’s my job, but not all of them work and every manager is the same. I prefer to give credit to the players, even the ones who didn’t play in Madrid. Their attitude and professionalism was incredible.”
