FA Cup
Hag and Guardiola boast ahead of a unique FA Cup final
Saturday sees the first-ever meeting of local rivals Manchester City and Manchester United in an FA Cup Final when the clubs face off at Wembley to decide the 2023 champions.
The clash also means that all England’s major cups will be in Manchester as Manchester United had earlier won the League Cup (Carabao) while city rivals, Manchester City are the Premier League champions.
What ever the outcome, the FA Cup shall be won by a team in Manchester. Both managers, Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola had worked together at German sides, Bayern Munich.
Ahead of this Saturday’s clash, both manager bared their minds in the official programme of the FA Cup final. Hear them:
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola:
”This competition is so special. It’s the most historic domestic cup competition in the world. When we won this trophy in 2019, I can honestly say it was one of my favourite moments as City manager.
“We want to win it again and I can promise you we will do everything we can to try and make that happen.
”We are playing a top team today; we know this and we are ready. Manchester United know how to win and we will have to fight for absolutely everything today.
“However, I trust my players and I can see it in their eyes: they want to win this trophy.
”To be here as Premier League champions is amazing for us. To win the title five times in six years is something very special.
“We try to be consistent and work hard every day, but I never imagined we could win five in six, especially in this country where the standard is so high. Every single week it is so tough and so demanding.
“The consistency my players have shown is extraordinary, and I’m incredibly proud of all of them. I am the luckiest manager in the world!
”And next week we have a Champions League final to look forward to. To be playing Inter in Istanbul in the final of Europe’s most beautiful competition is going to be amazing for this football club”
.
Manchester United’s Erik ten Hag:
”Our aim today is the same as always: win the game. You do not fight through round after round to reach cup finals just so you can enjoy a nice day out; once you reach one then you have to give every single bit of your energy to make sure you leave Wembley with the trophy.
”This is a fantastic opportunity for this group of players and staff to win our second piece of silverware and create a new moment of history for this great football club.
“If we stick to our gameplan, follow our own rules and draw extra strength from our amazing supporters, then I have every confidence that we can achieve our aim today and take another big step forward in our journey together.
”The strong bond that has developed between this team and our fans is one of the most pleasing things about the season, and this connection will be more important than ever at Wembley as we contest the Emirates FA Cup Final with Pep Guardiola and Manchester City.
”We know that we will have to be at our very best against an excellent opponent.
“We have already shown that we are capable of this, because our Premier League win over City in January was one of our best performances so far this season. So, we know what is required, we know the standards we have to reach.
”I can say with certainty that Pep will not be expecting an easy fixture this afternoon because we have shown repeatedly that we have the ability to cause problems for every team.”
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick as Manchester City crushed Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to cruise into the FA Cup semi-finals.
Champions Liverpool played well in the opening half-hour with Mohamed Salah wasting an early chance, but once Haaland had scored from the spot in the 37th minute after a foul on Nico O’Reilly, their resistance crumbled.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk conceded the penalty with a rash challenge, and there was little the Dutch defender could do as City played scintillating attacking football for the remainder of the game.
His blond hair swinging behind him in a ponytail, Haaland netted his second two minutes into first-half stoppage time with a well-placed header from an excellent Antoine Semenyo cross.
Semenyo got on the scoresheet himself five minutes after the break, latching on to a ball in behind from Rayan Cherki and chipping it beautifully past Giorgi Mamardashvili, and Haaland completed his treble with a shot off the underside of the crossbar in the 57th minute.
Liverpool’s woes continued when Mohamed Salah, who is set to leave the club at the end of the season, capped off a poor performance by having his penalty saved by James Trafford, snuffing out any faint hopes Liverpool might have had of a comeback
As the game turned into a victory parade, many Liverpool fans started heading for the exits, and City manager Pep Guardiola rang the changes, replacing Haaland with Omar Marmoush, the Norwegian striker receiving a standing ovation as he left the field.
In the other quarter-finals, Chelsea take on Port Vale and Southampton host Arsenal later on Saturday, with Leeds United travelling to West Ham United on Sunday.
The semi-finals will take place at Wembley, and Haaland is relishing a return to the stadium.
“First half, we struggled a bit, but then we after around 30 minutes we kept going and in the end it’s an amazing game. Another Wembley trip for us is amazing and important,” he told broadcaster TNT.
“I think (my form this season) has been a bit too much up and down, which is not good enough. I cannot keep on thinking about what I could have done differently or what didn’t happen, or what happened. I have to think about the next game.”
-Reuters
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Arsenal will be without injured England attacker Noni Madueke when they face Southampton in Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final, but Martin Odegaard and Jurrien Timber may return from injury, manager Mikel Arteta said.
Madueke was among the 11 Arsenal players who withdrew from international duty last month over injuries and fitness management, as the club eye their first Premier League title since 2004.
“When you have to communicate the state of every player, we are always honest and a medical decision had to be made. That was clear what the conclusion was,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“It makes us so proud that we had that many players in the national team. Players are desperate to play for their nation. I know how important it is to them. We are fully supportive of that and when we can do it, we do it.”
Madueke picked up a knee injury during England’s friendly with Uruguay, missing the game against Japan. But Arteta said his condition was not as bad as a knee injury that kept him out for six weeks.
Martin Zubimendi, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Timber, Leandro Trossard, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice were unavailable for their countries.
Arteta did not disclose how many of them will be available for Saturday’s game, as Arsenal look to shake off last month’s League Cup final loss to Manchester City with a return to Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals.
“We’re in a position right now where we need to make the strongest line-up we possibly can to win every competition,” he said. ” We are two or three games away from the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is for us.”
-Reuters
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Manchester City will look to secure a historic eighth straight semi-final appearance in the FA Cup when they face Liverpool on Saturday, manager Pep Guardiola said.
City beat Arsenal to win the League Cup before the international break, and Guardiola is hoping his team maintain the momentum as they fight to add the FA Cup and Premier League to this season’s trophy haul.
“Once you finish one, it is the next one,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“Tomorrow we have the chance to reach an incredible milestone, to make eight semi-finals in a row. It’s never happened… it is a prestigious competition, and one of the toughest, special opponents for all of us, Liverpool.”
City have dominated English football with six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and five League Cups since Guardiola joined in 2016, but Liverpool have been a constant thorn in his side throughout his coaching career.
As a coach, Guardiola has only nine victories and seven draws in 26 matches against Liverpool, his worst win rate against a Premier League club.
City have beaten Liverpool twice in the Premier League this season, but had to dig deep for a late comeback when they won 2-1 at Anfield in February.
“So many times they have been the rival, the biggest, biggest one… top contender, top class players, all of them. Hopefully we have to perform in the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step,” Guardiola said.
The manager also praised Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who has announced his departure in the summer.
“Absolutely. One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player… absolute legend, of course for Liverpool, but (also) for the Premier League,” Guardiola said.
Guardiola, however, avoided commenting on his own midfielder Rodri, who said he was open to a move to Real Madrid when his contract with City runs out at the end of this season.
“No clue, no opinion… because I know the intention of the club, I know the intention, I think, of him, but I don’t know,” Guardiola said.’
-Reuters
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