Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City have enjoyed a “really, really good” season even if they fall short in the Premier League title race with Arsenal.
City are two points behind the leaders with just two games remaining, meaning they need the Gunners to drop points if they are to have any chance of finishing top of the table.
Even if they miss out on a seventh league title in the Guardiola era, City can still end the campaign with two trophies if they can beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final this Sunday to add to their League Cup win.
Pep Guardiola delivers ‘really good’ verdict on Man City season
Asked if the season can be considered a success should Man City win two domestic trophies but fail to finish to pip Arsenal to the Premier League, Guardiola answered: “It depends on the trophies you lift. Sometimes you lift trophies and the season has been successful.
“Sometimes, you lift and the truth is the season has been really, really bad.
“I said a few weeks ago this season has been good. Really, really good.”
Man City will play in their fourth consecutive FA Cup final, but have lost each of the last two to Manchester United and Crystal Palace respectively. Guardiola is hoping to avoid the same fate this weekend.
“There’s excitement, of course,” he added. “I hope we can do better than the last two times.
“It’s new players and it’s forgotten. A new game against Chelsea. We are in the final and we have to try to win the trophy.”
Guardiola, however, wishes he had more time to prepare his team for the final after facing Crystal Palace on Wednesday. The fixture was rescheduled after City reached the League Cup final.
“I would prefer seven days like Chelsea had but when you reach Carabao Cup final, you have less days. It has happened in the past when we have won the title.
“The schedule is what it is. It is not ideal but it is what it its. We have done it in the past and we have to do it tomorrow.
“Because the big clubs, when you are in difficult circumstances, you have to do a little extra. It’s simple. It is not the perfect scenario to prepare for the final because we have not trained anything since the last game against Crystal Palace. But we are going to try.”
