Pep Guardiola reserved special praise for two Manchester City players after his side’s 1-0 win against Chelsea.
It was impressive to see the City cohort battle it out as well as they did against Mauricio Pochettino’s side, considering they played against Real Madrid on Wednesday.
However, it seems like the Sky Blues players are more determined than ever to win the double this season.
In fairness, the Manchester City players have been in a similar situation before.
Especially the likes of Ederson Moraes, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden.
In the 2018/2019 season, after Manchester City’s infamous defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, they had the intimidating task of facing them once again in the Premier League.
City were going toe-to-toe with Liverpool for the league title and with them eventually winning the league by a mere point and at the time, it was crucial for them to beat Spurs.
Guardiola hails two Man City players after FA Cup win against Chelsea
And they did, thanks to a Phil Foden header in the first half after getting on the end of an inch-perfect Sergio Aguero assist.
In that season, Manchester City showcased their resilience by becoming the first team in English history to win an unprecedented domestic treble.
Suffering a brutal defeat in the Champions League, as they did on penalties to Real Madrid is one thing.
However, the sign of a truly elite team is how they bounce back after such a devasting result and in the past, Pep Guardiola’s men have being the serial winners they are.
Questions were asked in the 2021/2022 season about whether City’s title hopes could be in jeopardy after Rodrygo’s heroic brace off the bench meant they were knocked out of Europe’s elite competition in the semi-final against Real Madrid.
Much like during the 2018/2019 season, Liverpool were on the Sky Blues’ necks.
However, the English giants exhibited the fire in their bellies by getting the job done on the final day of the campaign.
Once again, the Manchester City players redeemed themselves against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final and Pep Guardiola singled Rodri and Kyle Walker out for praise.
“They are legends! These guys, what they have done in seven years and again, prove it again. Rodri, the way he played today, Kyle [Walker], the backwards [running] after injured for three or four weeks, play 120 minutes and now run against [Nicolas] Jackson, against [Mykhailo] Mudryk at the end, I don’t understand how they survived, honestly. I don’t know. Hats off!”, the £378,846-a-week man told BBC Sport.
Rodri and Kyle Walker fought until the end against Chelsea
In our view, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola justifiably praised Rodri and Kyle Walker after their displays against Chelsea.
The City pair were far from perfect and showed signs of sloppiness, potentially due to being exhausted after their recent outing against Real Madrid.
But even so, Rodri and Walker battled away, winning every possible duel and doing their best to ensure City pushed on to get the win at Wembley Stadium.
Kyle Walker was largely brilliant in his battles with Nicolas Jackson while Rodri also got stuck into battles in midfield and showcased his enviable passing range, as Pep Guardiola sang their praises.
Even top players like the pair cannot always be flawless but what they can do is leave it out on the pitch and that is what the two did.