Pep Guardiola congratulates Liverpool but vows City will come back stronger

Pep Guardiola guided Manchester City to a third successive FA Cup final with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest — but the City boss wasted no time addressing Liverpool’s Premier League triumph.

Goals from Rico Lewis and Josko Gvardiol sealed City’s place in the final against Crystal Palace on May 17, yet Guardiola opened his post-match comments by offering heartfelt congratulations to Liverpool and Arne Slot.

“Before I start, on behalf of myself and all the club, we want to congratulate Liverpool for their Premier League victory,” said Guardiola. “It’s well deserved, no doubts about that. They are a fantastic team. For one year, they’re going to retain the title — and hopefully next season we can be better to compete until the end, which this season was not possible. So congratulations to Liverpool.”

Guardiola’s honest assessment:
Despite another trip to Wembley and Champions League qualification within reach, Guardiola made it clear that the season had fallen short of City’s standards.

“Nooo! This season has not been good. We are a thousand million points behind Liverpool. It’s not good,” Guardiola said bluntly. “Look at the Champions League. We won one game? Two games? We were always a machine and we have not been good this season. The damage will be minor, but it’s not going to confuse the fact that the season has not been good. The club has to make the right decisions so next season we will be better.”

Forest heartbreak:
On the Forest side, skipper Morgan Gibbs-White — who hit the bar and the post — apologized to supporters after the defeat:

“It’s devastating. I feel sorry for the fans. I should have scored at least one of them. The support never stopped and we thank the fans for that. We gave it everything, but we keep going. We've still got the Premier League to focus on.”

City’s season may not have met their sky-high expectations, but Guardiola’s message is clear: expect a battle next year.