Manchester City boss reflects on missed chances and hard lessons as Palace pull off famous Wembley win
Pep Guardiola has admitted his tactical approach fell short as Manchester City were stunned by Crystal Palace in a cagey FA Cup final defeat at Wembley, even though he felt his side played well.
Despite dominating possession and carving out several openings, City failed to find the back of the net for a second straight game. Palace, meanwhile, capitalised on a rare chance to snatch the trophy, leaving Guardiola and his players empty-handed on a day when they were heavily tipped to win.
“We played a good defensive game and controlled the transitions, and incredible threat except the goal,” said Guardiola. “They are difficult to control at throw-ins and corners and free-kicks but we could not score in the last two games.”
The City manager pointed to his team’s lack of cutting edge in the final third as the decisive factor, particularly in contrast to their recent five-goal demolition of the same opponent in the Premier League. But despite the frustration, Guardiola insisted his side gave everything.
“We created a lot but we didn’t score and that’s why we could not win,” he said. “We played better than the Southampton game, we were more active, and I would say we were really good in many things.”
Still, he acknowledged that good football counts for little in a final if it doesn’t deliver the result.
“The gameplan didn’t work because we didn’t win but I didn’t have any regrets,” Guardiola said. “At Southampton I had a bad feeling but today we are sad because it’s the FA Cup final and how nice is the day and the songs and the crowd and it’s such a beautiful day.”
City were denied time and again by Palace goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who turned in a heroic display. Despite the disappointment, Guardiola was quick to credit his own players for their improvement on previous showings.
“We are here and played to win and played much better than the 5-2 win at home to Palace and played better than last season when we lost to United [in the final],” the 54-year-old said.
“We had chances but it’s not easy with so many players there [in the box] and we continue. Now we rest and recover quick for the last two finals to qualify for the Champions League.”
