Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his priority is Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final at Newcastle rather than postponing Liverpool’s coronation as Premier League champions. Should Liverpool beat Crystal Palace late last night, City will need to beat Chelsea when they travel to Stamford Bridge 24 hours later to keep the title race alive.
The top two then clash in their next league game on July 2. However, with a 20-point gap between the runaway leaders and City, Guardiola is focused on securing more silverware in the FA Cup and the Champions League come August.
City lead Real Madrid 2-1 from the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie and will be one of the favourites to secure a first ever European crown should they progress to the quarter-finals, which will be held as one-off games in Lisbon.
“We have to see day-by-day, game-by-game to arrive in the two incredibly important games we have in the next period, which are Newcastle next Sunday and especially Madrid,” said Guardiola.
City have made an impressive return to Premier League action with comprehensive victories over Arsenal and Burnley over the past week, despite Guardiola making eight changes between the games. “Still the team is not fit for players to play 90 minutes every three days. This is not going to happen,” added Guardiola. “We cannot deny we have one eye in the Newcastle game. It is a final for us.”
City have already suffered one significant injury setback since the return as Sergio Aguero has undergone surgery on a knee problem in Barcelona. The Argentine is expected to at least miss the rest of the domestic season, but could return to play a part in the Champions League.
City’s second leg against Madrid is due to take place on August 7 or 8. “Everything went well, and I’ll soon begin recovery,” Aguero tweeted. “A big thanks to Dr.(Ramon) Cugat and his team — and to all of you for your support.”
Lampard focused on
finishing third
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will happily play a part in crowning Liverpool champions for the first time in 30 years, but only because it would mean his side have taken points from Manchester City.
Chelsea are in need of the points themselves to cement their place in the top four, with Lampard keen to catch Leicester in third before the season is over. “I have had absolutely no thought of Liverpool’s situation, it makes no odds to us at all,” said Lampard. “We respect Liverpool and Manchester City as two fantastic teams, in the last two to three seasons they’ve been dominant, but we can only look at what this match means for us.”
Chelsea famously played a big part on the night Leicester clinched the league in the 2015/16 season, coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Tottenham in what became dubbed “The Battle of the Bridge” after nine of the Spurs side were booked.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Reuters)
