LONDON • Pep Guardiola has once again sought to play down Manchester City's chances of winning the quadruple after their narrow 1-0 FA Cup semi-final victory over Brighton on Saturday.
Describing the unprecedented feat as highly unlikely, Gabriel Jesus' goal in the fourth minute was enough for City to set up a return visit to Wembley for the final on May 18.
They will be firm favourites to triumph and claim another piece of silverware, having won the League Cup in February.
Guardiola's men also remain in contention to retain the Premier League title and win the Champions League for the first time - with a quarter-final first leg against Tottenham to come tomorrow.
Should they prevail in the three competitions, they would become the first English club to achieve such a clean sweep.
But, after an unexpectedly subdued showing in what was City's 11th victory in 14 FA Cup semi-finals, and one in which they were somewhat fortunate not to lose Kyle Walker to a first-half red card for an apparent headbutt, Guardiola maintained his stance of not getting carried away with regard to what his team can achieve.
The Spaniard said post-game: "It is almost impossible to win the quadruple. Put it in the headline: almost impossible. Surviving in that stage of the competitions is already a miracle. And still we are there."
The 48-year-old was in somewhat tetchy mood after what was a 22nd victory in 23 games for his side, which could in part have been down to how City performed at Wembley.
Jesus' goal appeared the cue for a rout. Yet as was the case in the recent wins against Fulham and Cardiff, City retreated within themselves after taking an early lead.
They created only four shots on target in the entire game and found themselves under pressure from a spirited Brighton side in the second half.
It could also have been a different game had Walker been sent off in the first half following a scuffle with Brighton winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Both players were booked by referee Anthony Taylor before the defender's yellow card was looked at by the Video Assistant Referee with the possibility of it being upgraded.
After a short delay, the original decision was upheld despite replays showing Walker had thrust his head into that of the Iranian.
While Guardiola claimed to have not seen the incident, Chris Hughton was in no doubt the England right-back was lucky to remain on the field.
"In my opinion, it was a red card. There was sufficient force," said the Brighton manager. "We're at a stage where everybody is pushing for it (VAR). I've been converted, but I'm not sure how far it will take us."
THE GUARDIAN
After giving up 39 points to Damian Lillard in the opener, the Denver Nuggets were determined to make sure Portland's role players would have to bear the burden of evening up the series. CJ
Portland Trail Blazers vs. Denver Nuggets Live Score and
Benno is making a late run for "defender of the year" in my totally personal and made-up end-of-season awards do. A clean sheet against some toothless Terriers always goes down well here. Cesar Azpilicueta, 2 points
Bottom at Christmas but it's not goal-shy strikers fault
Napoli draw puts Juventus coronation on hold 08/04/2019 Oman Observer Milan: Napoli drew 1-1 with ten-man Genoa on Sunday to ensure that Juventus will have to wait another week to seal an eighth consecutive Serie A title.
Football: Napoli draw puts Juve coronation on hold, Football
Football: Watford's Andre Gray strikes late winner to spoil
Third S'porean to score in Europe. Ikhsan became only the third Singaporean player to score in professional European football. The first was his father Fandi Ahmad, who had 11 league goals for Dutch side FC Groningen from 1983 to 1985. The second was V. Sundram Moorthy, who netted three goals during a stint with Swiss side FC Basel in 1989.
Despite being regarded as possibly one of the contenders in the 2019 Singapore Premier League, Hougang United were handily beaten by Tampines Rovers 5-1. Things were especially difficult for the
LIVE: AIA Singapore Premier League - Tampines Rovers vs
Sassuolo star Kevin-Prince Boateng is on the verge of joining Barcelona in a shock move, according to Sky Sport Italia.According to Gianluca Di Marzio, Barca have identified Boateng as 'the
Boateng Set For Shock Barcelona Move - Reports - UrduPoint
Singaporean coach Akbar Nawas' Chennai City FC crowned new I-League champions in India Nawas took over as the head coach of the I-League club in March 2018 after previously serving as the
I-League winning coach Chennai City coach Akbar Nawas calls
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will travel with the rest of their squad for their FA Cup semifinal against Brighton and Hove Albion having nearly recovered from a hamstring injury, manager Pep Guardiola said Friday.
Football: Man City's Aguero in frame to face Brighton in FA Cup
Lions set to play two friendly matches in June. The Lions will come together once again to play against Solomon Islands on 8 June before taking on Myanmar on 11 June.
Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku must both take their opportunity to Injuries open way for Sanchez and Lukaku to shine for United "They've been part of our training for a long time now
Injuries open way for Sanchez and Lukaku to shine for United
Fabio Quagliarella became the oldest ever player to score for Italy as the 36-year-old converted two penalties in a crushing 6-0 Euro 2020 qualifying win by the Azzurri over Liechtenstein on Tuesday.
Quagliarella becomes oldest goalscorer in Italy history
Per an official press release, Bayern Munich has announced a brand new youth partnership with the Singapore Sports Council in Singapore.The new partnership will include the international youth tournament series "FC Bayern Youth Cup" along with exchange and education programs for Bayern's youth coaches.
Bayern Munich's SportSG tie-up boosts Singapore player
Southampton, who ended Arsenal's 22-game unbeaten run last time out, secured consecutive league wins for the first time in 20 months and they achieved it with a dominant performance at the John
Watford squeeze past QPR into FA Cup last eight Agencies February 17, 2019. Facebook Count Watford had possession in the first half but struggled to make any inroads against the solid home
0 Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen