Guardiola urges City to turn FA Cup pain into Champions League push

Pep Guardiola has called on his Manchester City players to channel the disappointment of their FA Cup final defeat into a final push for a top-five Premier League finish.

City's hopes of ending the season with silverware were extinguished on 17 May when they fell to a shock 1-0 loss against Crystal Palace at Wembley. Eberechi Eze's 16th-minute goal, coupled with a penalty save from Dean Henderson before half-time, condemned Guardiola's side to their second consecutive FA Cup final defeat.

Despite dominating possession, City were once again frustrated by a disciplined defensive display and a clinical counter-attacking strategy. Henderson, in particular, delivered a standout performance between the posts and was perhaps fortunate to avoid a red card for handling outside the area in the first half.

City, who also surrendered the Premier League title to Liverpool and exited the Champions League prematurely, now face the prospect of finishing a season without major silverware for the first time since 2016–17. Guardiola, however, is urging his players to respond by ensuring Champions League qualification.

"We are sad because we didn't win a beautiful competition," Guardiola said. "But we have two finals left. We must continue and recover quickly. It's not finished yet. We still have a target, and we must fight for that."

City sit sixth in the Premier League, one point adrift of the top five. They host Bournemouth on Tuesday before ending their campaign away at Fulham on 25 May.

Guardiola admitted recent attacking struggles have cost his team dearly, saying: "In the last month, we had fixed our problems with scoring and conceding. But lately, against Palace and Southampton, we didn't create much. I'm not saying it's easy—we need better crosses and more presence in the box."

One particularly telling moment at Wembley saw Erling Haaland hand over penalty duties to Omar Marmoush, an indication of the Norwegian striker's dip in confidence. Haaland, who has scored 30 goals in 42 appearances this season, has now failed to score in all six of his matches at Wembley, including three FA Cup finals.

Guardiola was also left frustrated by the lack of influence from Kevin De Bruyne, who is expected to depart in the summer. The Belgian playmaker, playing in his final final for City, was unable to unlock Palace's deep defensive line.

"I wanted Kevin in those positions to deliver the right passes," Guardiola said. "But unfortunately, we couldn't find him where we wanted. Still, I thought we played better than when we beat Palace 5-2 in April. We also played better than last year's final against United. We did everything we could."