Pep Guardiola hits out at UK Government over ‘nightmare’ train service impacting FA Cup final plans | OneFootball

Pep Guardiola has revealed Manchester City’s journey to London ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea was a six-hour ordeal, taking a characteristically dry swipe at British rail travel in the process.

Speaking in a press conference after City’s 1-0 victory at Wembley, the 55-year-old lifted the lid on a travel nightmare that will resonate with anyone who has attempted a long-distance train journey in England – and did so with the kind of deadpan delivery that has made his press conferences viewing for nine years.

The revelation adds an entertaining footnote to what was already a remarkable week for City, who had beaten Crystal Palace on Wednesday last week to keep the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race – before recovering and travelling to the English capital in time for Saturday’s showpiece.

We spent six hours, literally six hours from Manchester to London: Pep

Guardiola was not understating the situation when he addressed the subject. “Yesterday, the travel was a nightmare,” the Catalan said after Antoine Semenyo‘s second-half winner clinched a cup double for the domestic treble chasing Blues.

“We spent six hours, literally six hours, from the CFA (City Football Academy) to here (London). The trains, hmm, are a little bit of a problem in this country. Six hours!”

The emphasis on “six hours” – repeated twice with evident disbelief – tells its own story. City’s journey from the City Football Academy in Manchester to London should take just over two hours by train, making the actual journey time roughly three times what it ought to have been.

Guardiola had already pointed to Chelsea‘s week-long preparation advantage heading into the final, with the south-west London outfit having had a week off while City navigated the Premier League run-in. A six-hour train journey on top of that was presumably not part of the plan.

What does the revelation say about City’s mentality?

The fact that City beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday despite a gruelling week – three games, a nightmare journey and a Chelsea side that had enjoyed a full week of rest and preparation – speaks volumes about the character within Guardiola’s squad.

City defender John Stones revealed that Guardiola was angrier at half-time than he had ever seen him, with the manager demanding more fight and hunger from a side that had been flat in the opening 45 minutes.

Whatever the first half lacked, Semenyo’s winner ultimately delivered the trophy – six-hour train journey, three games in a week and all.