DBasia.news – Pep Guardiola said that Manchester City’s main domestic target is the runner-up finish of the English Premier League, which he said to be more important than winning the FA Cup or the Carabao Cup.
City have emerged as the dominant force of English football since Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium in 2016.
The Citizens have won a total of eight trophies under the Spanish manager, including two Premier League titles while setting new standards in terms of consistency and appearance.
Liverpool also managed to improve their performance in the 2019-20 season after almost winning the English league title last season with just one defeat.
Jurgen Klopp’s squad have been named as the English league champion this season following City’s 1-2 defeat at home to Chelsea on June 25th and they have the potential to break the record for the most points in a season.
However, City have won the third successive League Cup and they are still competing in the FA Cup semi-finals and the Champions League last 16 match against Real Madrid.
Apart from the second successive treble opportunity, Guardiola insisted that being runner-up in the English Premier League has more value than domestic trophies.
“This organization wants to win titles, so of course this is not perfect satisfaction but a recognition that our opponents are better in this competition and we are not at that level,” Guardiola said.
“We cannot deny that the second (place) target is better than winning the FA Cup, Carabao Cup or others and qualifying for the Champions League, which other clubs are fighting for.”
“We are not the best, but we are better than 18 other teams. This is the target to be achieved this season,” added the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach.