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LONDON: Pep Guardiola has vowed Manchester City will be back to their best next season after losing their “spirit” during a turbulent campaign that exposed an unexpected lack of hunger in his side.
Currently third in the Premier League, City — who had won the previous four English titles — want to salvage a dismal year by winning the FA Cup and qualifying for the Champions League via a top five finish.
Guardiola’s side face Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup semifinals on Sunday knowing defeat at Wembley would condemn them to finish without a major trophy for the first time since 2016-17.
But Guardiola is already thinking about how to avoid a repeat of City’s stunning struggles and he believes he has found the solution.
The City boss noticed the passion his players celebrated with after Bernardo Silva put them ahead in a crucial 2-1 win against top-five rivals Aston Villa on Tuesday.
It was a display of unity that Guardiola didn’t see earlier in the season, when he felt City took success for granted after winning six of the last seven Premier League titles.
“We learn to do better. To create another bond with the team, to celebrate when we score a goal,” he told reporters on Friday.
“When Bernardo scored the first goal on Tuesday we celebrated. The body language, the passion.
“We didn’t celebrate the same way when we scored in October. That stupid detail tells a lot.
“We have to recover the spirit we had in the first nine years. This year we didn’t have it.”
Guardiola hopes his quest to reignite his players’ fire will eventually close the gap on champions-elect Liverpool.
“Next season will be better. Everybody learned the lesson. I think we will compete a bit better for the Premier League,” he said.
“I’m not saying we will win it but we will be more who we are. I think the players understand. You have to fight to defend your club. I’m pretty sure we will be back again.”
Guardiola took heart from the way Rodri has been trying to inspire his team-mates as the Spain midfielder recovers from the knee injury that has sidelined him since September.
“I love that,” Guardiola said. “The guy doesn’t play and I allow him to be a manager.
“He will help the guys and it is the way we create a team. It is something special.”
City are aiming to reach the FA Cup final for a third successive season after winning the competition in 2023 and losing last year’s showpiece against Manchester United.
They face a tricky test from Nuno Espirito Santo’s team after losing 1-0 at the City Ground in the Premier League in March, a result that maintained Forest’s unexpected push for a first Champions League campaign since 1980-81.
“It would be good to make the final but we have a serious and tough rival. Nuno has been incredible,” Guardiola said.
This is the seventh successive season that City have reached the FA Cup semifinals, but they have only lifted the trophy twice in the Guardiola era.
No matter the result at Wembley, Guardiola acknowledged the season has been a failure.
“I said many times the season has not been good, regardless if we reach the final or go to the Champions League,” he said.
“Too many matches have not been good. We would avoid bigger damage for the club if we win the cup. But what will dictate the season is the Premier League.”

LONDON: Sifan Hassan concedes she remembers little about her remarkable marathon debut two years ago in London when she stopped twice to stretch her hip before her stunning kick down the home stretch to victory, but she is hoping for less drama in Sunday’s race.
The 32-year-old Dutchwoman, who headlines the women’s field for the 45th edition of the London Marathon, laughed when asked on Friday if she is poised for an even better performance on her return to England’s capital.
“Better than two years ago? I’m never going to be better than two years ago,” Hassan told reporters.
“I don’t know why I get nervous and scared about the marathon but you have to go for over two hours,” she added. “I had a lot of drama in my win two years ago.”
The Olympic champion over 5,000 and 10,000 meters dropped back from the field in the 2023 London race due to cramping before drawing on her track experience to out-sprint Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir and Alemu Megertu of Ethiopia.
“Everybody is asking me ‘Do you remember what happened in London in 2023?’ I don’t remember a lot of it all honesty. I was throwing up before the race and then I had some issues in the race,” Hassan said. “The biggest thing I remember was the last five kilometers and that part was crazy.”
Hassan went on to win Olympic marathon gold last year in Paris in similarly dramatic fashion, battling Tigst Assefa before finally shaking off the Ethiopian with the finish line in sight.
“I never knew that I’d have that much patience for a race like the marathon,” Hassan said. “Every marathon is different, like Paris, Chicago, London or Tokyo.
“Every time you run the London Marathon, it’s like competing the Olympics. I’m excited to race because we all know each other as well. It’s a beautiful sport.”
Sunday’s field took a hit when world record-holder Ruth Chepngetich and last year’s London champion Jepchirchir withdrew earlier this month.
Former world record-holder Assefa and 2021 London champion Joyciline Jepkosgei of Kenya will look to give Hassan a run for her money.
“London Marathon is a big event and there are lots of reasons why I like to run here,” Assefa said on Friday. “To win here will mean so much to me in my career.”
Jepkosgei said she relishes the “great opportunity” to line up against Hassan and Assefa, adding: “A marathon is like a book and you open each chapter every time you run. I learn on every occasion I compete.”
Uganda’s half-marathon world record-holder Jacob Kiplimo, who is making his marathon debut, Ethiopia’s Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and marathon great Eliud Kipchoge headline the elite men’s field.
Reigning Paralympic marathon champions Catherine Debrunner and Marcel Hug top the women’s and men’s wheelchair fields, while Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee and British distance specialist Eilish McColgan, both making their debut in the 41.195-kilometer distance, are among the top British contenders.