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By Martin Graham | 23rd Apr 2023
Pep Guardiola could not contain his excitement after Manchester City made it past Sheffield United in the semi-finals of the 2022/23 FA Cup.
The Spaniard watched as his team beat the Blades 3 – 0 on Saturday afternoon to end an unfortunate run of semi-final losses in the competition. He is now closer to his second ever FA Cup triumph in seven seasons as City manager.
Riyad Mahrez scored a hat-trick to send the Cityzens to the finals where they will face either city rivals Manchester United in a Manchester derby final or upstarts Brighton and Hove Albion. Guardiola is buzzing about the performance and the prospect of winning another FA Cup title, one of the two titles that has eluded him greatly since he took over at the club in 2016.
“It’s the fourth time in a row we are here and the last three against Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool we could not do it,” said Pep after his side made it past the EFL Championship team.
“Today we performed. Like I said in the press conference, this game is coming on the back of Bayern Munich, and we talked about how we have to try again and perform well – and they did really well with all the guys, the ones that came from the bench… everyone was perfect.
“I’m happy and really satisfied for all the Club to be after many years in the FA Cup final.”
Guardiola then showered special praise on hat-trick hero Mahrez for his performance which ensured that City would not lose at the semi-final stage in the FA Cup for the fourth time in a row.
“Always he’s grumpy with me when he doesn’t play,” smiled Guardiola. “All the time, he makes me notice he’s grumpy. Today, no. He’s an exceptional player and his play was exceptional.
“A biggest stage player who has the mentality to score goals. His composure for the penalty was important so we finished the first half 1-0 and the second and third were brilliant.
“It’s really good to be in the final. I’m so satisfied with Riyad because he loves to play football and he has given many things in these years and hopefully more in the future.”
The Spaniard reserved some praise for their opponents, who could be returning to the Premier League next season via the EFL Championship playoffs.
In the meantime, he will turn his attention to the Premier League where they face Arsenal in midweek for a chance to grab the Premier League top spot and retain their title.
Martin Graham is an MFF sports writer
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