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Last update: 28.06.20 11:10 p.m.
Pep Guardiola urges his team to win the cup
Pep Guardiola has asked his Manchester City players to prepare for the Champions League showdown with Real Madrid by winning the FA Cup.
City will face Real in the mini-tournament at the end of the season when they play in Europe again. After handing over their Premier League crown to Liverpool last week, they are determined to add another trophy to their collection
Lock horns with the Spanish giants.
They made a significant step in that direction on Sunday when they booked an FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal with a 2-0 win over Newcastle in St. James’ Park, and Guardiola is in no mood for his men to stop there.
He said: “We are delighted to be back in London at Wembley after defeating Chelsea to play Arsenal in the semi-finals and reach the FA Cup final.”
“It is always an incredible trophy and it gives us an extra bonus. We spoke after what happened in the Premier League – we need two more wins to qualify for the Champions League.”
“But we have two competitions that we can win. We took the first step today. It will be good to play Real Madrid in good shape.”
“Winning this title would be the best way to prepare for Madrid.”
Kevin De Bruyne’s penalty brought Man City a deserved lead
City was absolutely dominant on Tyneside, where they drew in the league earlier this season after losing eleven months earlier, but needed a bloodshed from defender Fabian Schar to open their account.
Crowd unnecessarily pushed striker Gabriel Jesus to the ground in the penalty area to give Kevin De Bruyne a chance to celebrate his 29th birthday with a penalty in the 37th minute, and he was committed.
Despite their inferiority at night, Newcastle should have equalized when substitute Dwight Gayle shot from close range in the 66th minute and Raheem Sterling had him paid almost immediately with a decent finish to end the win.
Guardiola said: “It was a fantastic goal from Raheem. I didn’t see the rating for the penalty. Gabriel Jesus could have headed the ball and I think the opponent pushed him.”
“De Bruyne is definitely reliable and hopefully he can continue because we have had a lot to struggle with this season.”
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