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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Simon Bajkowski

'Never again' Pep Guardiola has a bigger focus than Treble for Man City

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City may never get this close to a Treble again as they sit 90 minutes away from history.

A 2-1 win over Manchester United in the FA Cup earned the Premier League champions their second trophy of the season, ahead of the Champions League final in Istanbul. United are the only other English side to have completed the incredible achievement yet were unable to ensure that record lasts another year when they had the chance as Ilkay Gundogan struck twice in a Wembley win.

Guardiola indicated that just winning the Champions League may be more important to the club than achieving the Treble in terms of the legacy that they leave as they chase the one trophy that has eluded the club. However, he also said that everyone at City has to acknowledge the position that they find themselves in after winning two trophies.

Read next: Man City step up efforts to keep FA Cup hero Ilkay Gundogan

"More than the fact for the treble is the fact to win the Champions League. We won already the FA Cup, we won the Premier League. It is the same," he said.

"For me, I would say it is incredibly remarkable in three years we have had two finals and one semi-final of the Champions League. That is incredible but in the end we have to win it. I know how it works.

"We give more and more credit for what we have done these years, we have done many things, but I said to the players 'you have to put the pressure on yourself, to be recognised as something good you have to win Europe'.

"They know what we have ahead of us. Everyone says 'one more to go, one more to go'.

"They feel we are in a position we will probably never be in again, and after we have three or four training sessions, to prepare for Inter Milan. I have two days to watch them. Then we go there to try.

"Everybody knows it. We have done incredible seasons – five Premier Leagues, two FA Cups, Carabao Cups, but we have to win the Champions League to be recognised like the team deserves to be recognised. We have to admit it, without the Champions League – it has been amazing, it has been fun – but we are missing (something). We have to do it."

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