Pep Guardiola Tells Manchester City Stars What Mistake to Avoid Against Crystal Palace
- Pep Guardiola has warned Manchester City players to avoid a costly mistake against Crystal Palace
- City will host Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, with a chance to close the gap
- A win keeps Guardiola’s side alive in the race, while a loss or even a draw ends their title chase this season
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has warned his players to avoid making a costly mistake against Crystal Palace as the title race nears the end.
City will host Crystal Palace at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, with an opportunity to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the table.
Source: Getty Images
The match is a must-win for the Citizens if they want to keep their title hopes alive, while a loss or even a draw will end their ambitions this season, as noted by the Premier League.
City are five points behind Arsenal, who have played a game more than them, and will remain two points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s side wins tonight.
If City wins tonight, it will put pressure on Arsenal when they host Burnley at the Emirates Stadium on Monday, May 18, 2026.
Guardiola warns City of costly mistake
Pep Guardiola has told his players to maintain focus, play their game and not rely on the referee or video assistant referee to allow decisions to go their way.
The manager said this while reacting to Arsenal winning valuable three points against West Ham after VAR disallowed the Hammers' late equaliser.
“What is important is tomorrow, then we'll see what happens when we get to the next one. I always learned that when you lose focus, you're in a dangerous situation,” he told Sky Sports.
“Only we can do what we have to do and do it better. That is only in our control.”
Guardiola registered his distrust towards the officiating in England, adding that his side lost the last two FA Cup finals to Manchester United and Crystal Palace because the referee did not do their job.
He added that he never trusted the officiating, even with the introduction of VAR, because it means the teams have to do better each time.
“You have to do it better. Do it better. If you want to be in that position, do better because you have to blame yourselves. That [VAR] is a flip of a coin. You have to do it better yourself,” he added.
Source: Getty Images
Guardiola stressed the importance of focusing on their game to his players at a time when officials make inconsistent decisions, even with the available technology.
City will be boosted by the return of Rodri and Abdulkodir Khusanov, both of whom have had fitness issues, which kept them out of recent matches.
Guardiola makes admission about City
Legit.ng previously reported that Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City are under pressure ahead of their match against Crystal Palace.
Guardiola, even though he has acted with calmness and composure during his press conferences, finally admitted that the pressure had always been there.
Source: Legit.ng
