Before the League Cup final, in the pre-match press conference, Pep Guardiola talked about Man City currently being on a sublime path after a series of bad matches. However, after defeating Arsenal at Wembley, perhaps Man City is now better than what Pep himself is imagining.
No one, including me, bet on this victory. Arsenal is the strongest team of the season to date. However, in the last 15 minutes of the first half and throughout the second half, I have to admit everything was beyond imagination. I couldn't believe Man City could play like that against Arsenal and we did it" - Pep Guardiola shared.
When Nico O'Reilly opened the score for Man City, Pep Guardiola celebrated too enthusiastically. He kicked the advertising billboard on the pitch, as if it was the most important goal in his coaching career.
It has been a long time since The Citizens fans have seen their captain explode with such emotions. What is special is that this is just the League Cup final, the title Pep has won 4 times before and this cup is too small compared to his glorious career.
One of the reasons explaining Pep's enthusiastic celebration is that Man City just suffered a painful 1-5 defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16. No one thought they could beat Arsenal so convincingly.
In the Premier League race, they are 9 points behind this opponent and are increasingly far from the opportunity to reclaim the championship. However, after the wonderful Wembley night just passed, faith has been rekindled for Pep and his students to race "green" with Arsenal once again.
The current squad in Pep's hands is not the generation that swept Europe like in 2023. They are a young team with many new pieces. The image of winning the Premier League 4 consecutive seasons or winning the treble in 2023 is far away, but Man City still knows how to win because their captain is still there.
Today is a real challenge. I told my players, let's play our best with the strongest team to know where our true level is" - Pep shared.
In the last 30 minutes of the match, although sometimes the players played subjectively to the point of Ryan Cherki's ball juggling, Pep still lived every moment. He shouted, ran back and forth and directed his players continuously.
Even after O'Reilly scored the 2nd goal, Pep received a yellow card just for celebrating too excitedly. In the past, Pep's Man City defeated Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, defeated Liverpool at Anfield, but never before has he shown so much emotion in this match.
When Pep Guardiola was about to end his first 10-year journey with Man City, it was unknown whether he would continue to stick with it after 2027. Amidst rumors about the future, instead of making a denial or rebuttal, Pep answered by winning and bringing home a title.
Man City's unbeatable squad in 2023 once again puts Pep at the top of the list of talented coaches. Perhaps this man does not want to stop, still wants to build another generation to continue to be remembered in football history like he has done many times in the past.
