Source : ABC NEWS
Manchester City players will not be allowed a single celebratory drink despite winning the FA Cup final against Chelsea at Wembley.
Antoine Semenyo produced a moment of magic in the 1-0 victory as City completed an English cup double, but celebrations are on hold until the Premier League season is over.
City is trailing Arsenal by two points in a tight race for the Premier League trophy with two games remaining.
But Arsenal’s final two matches, against 19th-placed Burnley and 15th-placed Crystal Palace, are far easier than City’s showdowns with Bournemouth, sixth after a 17-game unbeaten run, and Aston Villa, which just clinched a Champions League spot.
Guardiola said his team needed to stay locked in on the Premier League and would be celebrating with their Women’s Super League counterparts, who have claimed the title in their own race with Arsenal.
“Not even one beer,” Guardiola told reporters of their celebration plans after the FA Cup triumph.
Matheus Nunes may not have got Guardiola’s memo. (Getty Images: John Walton/PA Images)
“Next Monday after Aston Villa, we’re going to celebrate it with the women’s team with some parade in Manchester, because it must be celebrated with both teams. But no, we don’t have time.”
Forward Semenyo turned and deftly back-heeled the ball past Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez from an Erling Haaland cross in the 72nd minute to delight the City supporters.
City captain Bernardo Silva, who is leaving at the end of the season, received the FA Cup from Prince William and raised it aloft alongside defender John Stones, who is also departing the club, to wild cheers from the sky-blue end of Wembley Stadium.
It was City’s eighth FA Cup triumph and followed victory in the League Cup in March, in what could also be Guardiola’s last season after 10 years in charge.
“This trophy is really, really cool, really special for the tradition, and after two defeats (in consecutive finals), back to Manchester is nice,” Guardiola said.
But it was a seventh successive domestic cup final defeat — the fourth in the FA Cup — for Chelsea, who had looked to the showpiece match for some relief after a turbulent season and two managerial changes.
Enzo Fernandez, Joao Pedro and Liam Delap all had chances to score for Chelsea and their interim coach Calum McFarlane believed they should have had a penalty.
“The Jorrel Hato and [Abdukodir] Khusanov collision in the box is a penalty,” McFarlane said in the post-match press conference.
“Jorrel gets in front and it’s a collision in the back. If that’s anywhere else on the pitch, it’s a foul.”
Reuters
