Guardiola prepares penalty scenario in FA Cup final

Before competing in the FA Cup with Man Utd today, coach Pep Guardiola emphasized that mentality is the most important factor if the winner or loser has to be decided in the penalty shootout.

"You have to be careful because many finals in recent times have gone to extra time and penalties," Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference on June 2. "It's an experience that you have to try to control. The most important skill is the mentality. You only have two options, to score or not, and that makes the difference. You have to decide whether to shoot left, right or panenka, but you have to be mentally strong."

Guardiola has been at Man City since 2016 and has won every domestic honour, including five Premier League titles, an FA Cup, four League Cups and two Community Shields. However, the Spanish coach believes that past performances or trophies do not determine the outcome of a particular match.

Guardiola instructs Man City players on the training ground on June 1. Photo: mancity.com — Guardiola instructs Man City players on the training ground on June 1. Photo: *mancity.com*

"It's a football match, a final, and it's about how you perform for at least 90 minutes," Guardiola continued. "It doesn't matter what you did, it's about how well or how badly you play. It's about how you perform as an individual, as a team, and all the details for the next 90, 95 minutes. Man City have to be at their best to beat Man Utd."

In his first encounter with Erik ten Hag in October 2022, Guardiola and Man City beat Man Utd 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scoring hat-tricks. But Guardiola believes Man Utd have improved and played much better in the past six months, as demonstrated by the 2-1 comeback win over his own Man City earlier this year.

The 52-year-old coach praised Casemiro as a professional player, while also having high praise for Ten Hag. The two worked together at Bayern, when Ten Hag was in charge of the B team and Guardiola coached the first team.

"It's not easy to achieve good results in the first season in the Premier League and that shows that Ten Hag is a top coach," Guardiola said. "We are not friends because we don't have much contact, but I think Man Utd will have a great coach for many years to come."

When asked about the possibility of Ten Hag creating a tactical surprise at Wembley, the Man City head coach was cautious: "I don't know. If Ten Hag does that, we have to read the game as well as possible in the first 5 or 10 minutes."

According to Guardiola, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Jack Grealish have returned to training and are in near-perfect shape, while revealing that Ortega Moreno will be the main goalkeeper. This season, the Spanish coach has placed Ederson in the starting line-up in the Premier League and Champions League, while Ortega has been given the opportunity throughout the journey to the FA Cup final. "Everything is the same, even when facing Barca or Bayern, Ortega will play in the FA Cup," he said.

Hong Duy

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