After three matches in three cup competitions in the past week, fourth-placed City return to Premier League action at Liverpool in midweek.
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Multiple point-blank saves had kept Liverpool from going a second down, and while he might have deserved blame for the one he let in, there were two or three others nearly any other ‘keeper would have had to fish out of the back of the goal.
Cup final hero Caballero added: “It’s awesome, to win this cup, for me it’s fantastic”. You remember the game we played at the Etihad… “It’s what we call the hunting season”, Kompany, who led City to the title in 2012 and 2014, told the club’s website.
“We have to play for another 36 points (in the league) yet so we are not going to give up”.
“I’m also happy for Joe Hart, who is not only a great keeper and a good person but he was shouting and supporting Willy during the shootout”.
Pellegrini admitted he effectively wrote off the FA Cup in order to prioritise the League Cup and Champions League. “A lot of media were waiting to criticise me if Willy Caballero makes a mistake”, he said.
“I know it’s a very important game for them and it’s a very important game for us, so it’s not that the game is not too important, it’s about thinking ‘Can I bring in another [player] that is 100 per cent fit?'”
Pellegrini believes that Sunday’s triumph has given him a genuine chance to sign off his final season in Manchester with a treble by clinching the EPL and Champions League as well.
Sagna said: “It is never easy to know the manager is leaving but if he can leave with trophies it is better and that is what we are trying to do”.
Klopp said: “We asked the players and these five players said “yes”.
“I could score a few more goals but I am on the right way and if I work hard I will get better”.
“You have to feel how it is to lose”.
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“If the maths say you can do it, you must always trust you can do it. I am sure our team will continue growing from now until the end of the season”. Mamadou Sakho has started regularly under the new regime, yet lasted just 25 minutes of the cup final before suffering a nasty clash of heads with teammate Emre Can.
