Manchester City are in a huge fight five other teams for the three remaining Champions League spots in the Premier League, and they host Bournemouth on Tuesday night
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22:30, 18 May 2025
Pep Guardiola knows Man City face a huge clash with Bournemouth
Pep Guardiola knows Man City face a huge clash with Bournemouth
(Image: Getty Images)
Pep Guardiola admitted Manchester City's game against Bournemouth on Tuesday is “massive” following their FA Cup final defeat.
City must recover quickly from the pain of their Wembley defeat to Crystal Palace, with Champions League qualification on the line. Guardiola's side are in sixth place in the race for a top-five spot to clinch Champions League place, knowing wins in their final two league games will be enough.
After Bournemouth, City go to Fulham on the final day of the season, with Guardiola acknowledging the scale of the task facing him and his players. Guardiola said: “It's massive. It’s obvious.
"Ask Arsenal, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Newcastle or Aston Villa. Of course it’s important - massive.
“But now is not the time to talk to the players and get into their minds. Recovery, then the game and then we will see how the players recover and go from there.
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“Now we have to recover quickly. We’re a big club, we're disappointed, but now we don’t have much time to recover for an important game against Bournemouth.
“Of course it’s better to play against Bournemouth after winning the FA Cup. Winning helps winning, but now we have to prove how strong we are with our people.”
Asked about the importance of this summer, in terms of rebuilding his squad to make them title challengers again, Guardiola said: “I always say that, after nine years, you have already rebuilt and we're not the same players or team as when we arrived.
Guardiola has his eyes on qualifying for the Champions League
Guardiola has his eyes on qualifying for the Champions League
“I think the club has ideas but, from my point of view, now we have two massive important games for the future of this club.
“After that we will take a break, the Club World Cup is in that process and we will make decisions that we have to make.”
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