Ilkay Gündogan says FA Cup win won’t make up for City’s poor season

Manchester City midfielder IIkay Gundogan said FA Cup win won’t make for the club’s disappointing season if they go on to win the title. The Sky Blues will face Nottingham Forest in the semifinal clash at the Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

Recently, head coach Pep Guardiola said their season would still be bad even if they qualify for the next year’s Champions League. 

The Sky Blues are currently in third place in the Premier League standings with 61 points and have only four games remaining.

“The past has shown that it’s not the standard we set for ourselves,” Gündogan told ESPN. “We know things were not good enough from our side throughout the season. We can’t change that, we can only take it and be honest with ourselves. It’s important to admit to yourself.

“There are two targets left for us. One is obviously to qualify for the Champions League next year, which is vital for the club and also for us players as well.

“The other one is to try to get to the FA Cup final. We’re going back to Wembley for the semifinal and it’s always special.

The German International added that the level of Premier League is always high and thus they need to be at the top of their game.

“The standard in the Premier League is so high,” he said. “If you go through all the teams, there is no league in the world that has this kind of standard. Every game is so tough. The FA Cup is a reflection of that and that’s why these teams are there. Every team is so uncomfortable to play against.

“When we lost at their place we were not up to our game and that’s what I mean. It gets punished in the Premier League. Maybe in the past we could have been at 70, 80 or 90% and still win games but now it’s so demanding. What they do, they do really well.