Manchester City will 'take a break' from Premier League title battle against Arsenal - and throw everything at Chelsea in FA Cup final
Published 13/05/2026 at 23:47 GMT+1
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Pep Guardiola says his Manchester City team is now firmly focused on the FA Cup - after keeping the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
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Guardiola's side trail leaders Arsenal by two points with two games to play after a 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
Antoine Semenyo, Omar Marmoush and Savinho were on target at the Etihad Stadium as City won by that scoreline in the league for the ninth time this season.
Guardiola and his team will now prepare for Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea, which will be shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, and they can only hope that Arsenal drop points in one of their remaining two games when they turn their attention back to the league.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola said: "Of course, we want to bring the option to the final game. Unfortunately, it is not in our hands for many, many, many reasons.
"This group of players is extraordinary. This season the joy we have had every day with them, and now we are in another final."
Arsenal are at home to Burnley on Monday night, while City travel to Bournemouth on May 19.
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And Arsenal's final game of the season is away to Palace on May 24, while City end their campaign with a home game against fifth-placed Aston Villa.
City will now "take a break" from the run-in ahead of the showpiece at Wembley.
Guardiola added: "Bournemouth and Aston Villa are not the easy ones to take. Bournemouth is playing for European competition, extraordinary, and I don't know the last game they lost, but now we take a break, and the FA Cup final deserves all the attention and credit.
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"To win the games, and win the title, you have to be much, much, much, much better."
City's line-up against Palace saw six changes from that which beat Brentford 3-0 on Saturday, and asked about keeping players fresh for the final, the City boss said: "Yes, especially Kova [Mateo Kovacic], Rayan [Ait-Nouri].
"Rayan was really good, and Matheus [Nunes] was extraordinary. So, really good, we're ready for the final."
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Meanwhile, Palace defender Maxence Lacroix bemoaned the "big mistakes" the UEFA Europa Conference League finalists made at the Etihad Stadium.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "Today, we were not at our top level, and when you play these types of top teams, you have to be better.
"I think we take it game by game. We take all the games really seriously. I think we did good intensity, but maybe not in the right moments. Against big teams, you can't make big mistakes."
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