Pep Guardiola hails his ‘special’ Man City slickers after they beat Newcastle to reach their SIXTH straight FA Cup semi-final… as Eddie Howe rues bad luck and insists ‘the football gods are working against’ his side
- Manchester City sealed their place at Wembley after a 2-0 win over Newcastle
- Pep Guardiola called his side’s slick performance ‘incredible’ and ‘special’
- We’ve already conceded more goals than last season… Why Newcastle aren’t the force they used to be – It all starts podcast
Pep Guardiola hailed his ‘incredible’ Manchester City after reaching six consecutive FA Cup semi-finals with a routine 2-0 win over Newcastle.
Bernardo Silva scored two deflected goals in the first half, but City had the majority and kept their ambitions of a second successive treble alive.
“This team, this club, has something special, it’s incredible,” Guardiola said.
‘I know we are playing to win the final, but to win it you have to win the earlier rounds. We’ve won four Carabao Cup finals in a row and now we’re in six FA Cup semi-finals. To run and play like they did is incredible. Congratulations to the team, no one has done that before.
‘We played very well, we were so safe with the ball. Mateo (Kovacic), Rodri and Bernardo held the ball so well. The game was really good. You see us when we come back every three days, three days, three days, three days…’
Pep Guardiola called Manchester City ‘special’ after they beat Newcastle in the FA Cup
Bernardo Silva scored twice to secure City’s place in the semi-finals for the sixth consecutive season
Silva is likely to be linked with a move away from the Etihad this summer, but Guardiola added: ‘Everyone loves him and we want him. It is very important that he stays with us.’
Man-of-the-match Phil Foden said: ‘We always talk about winning more trophies. The hunger is still there. We shall go on. It’s one of the best teams I’ve ever seen. At this stage of the season we need everyone.β
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe, meanwhile, lamented the bad luck that led to City’s goals on a night when his team were not disgraced.
βThe goals are difficult to take, especially the first one with a big deflection,β he said. ‘These are the football gods who are working against us.
‘But I thought the boys gave everything. I thought we were doing well and stuck with it and upset them at times. Ultimately, in the final third, when we had chances to hurt them, the quality wasn’t there.
‘But we can’t feel sorry for ourselves, it happened. This season could have been different, some big moments went against us.β
Eddie Howe lamented his side’s bad luck but insisted the Magpies ‘gave it their all’ at the Etihad