Pep Guardiola Calls Manchester City’s 2025/26 Season ‘Extraordinary’ After FA Cup and Carabao Cup Double

Pep Guardiola has labelled Manchester City’s 2025/26 season “extraordinary” following the club’s domestic double, which was completed with a 1-0 FA Cup final victory over Chelsea at Wembley on 16 May 2026.

The win added the FA Cup to the Carabao Cup City had already secured earlier in the campaign, marking another significant chapter in Guardiola’s decade-long tenure at the Etihad Stadium. It was the Spanish manager’s 21st trophy with the club since his arrival in 2016 — a haul that includes multiple Premier League titles, domestic cup victories, and the club’s first UEFA Champions League title.

Speaking in the aftermath of the Wembley celebrations, Guardiola acknowledged that incorporating a new group of players into his system had caused friction during the opening months of the season. “The toughest season was last season, for many reasons. This season, maybe we took time to find some stability due to the new group of players getting to know me,” he said.

Despite that transitional period, City managed to sustain a Premier League title challenge and advance through the Champions League league phase, finishing in the top eight. Guardiola was also quick to credit rivals Arsenal for their own consistency throughout the campaign. “But you don’t always get that in the Premier League, and Arsenal have also been extraordinary. We won two trophies and finished in the top eight of the Champions League league phase. This season has been extraordinary,” he added.

The FA Cup triumph over Chelsea extended City’s record of sustained domestic dominance under Guardiola, who has now guided the club to at least one major trophy in each of the last several seasons. The 1-0 scoreline at Wembley was narrow, but sufficient to deny Chelsea — who, according to reports, have since moved to appoint Xabi Alonso as their new head coach — any silverware on the day.

City’s ability to adapt through what Guardiola himself described as a transitional period will be seen as a marker of the club’s institutional depth. The integration of new signings mid-cycle has historically posed difficulties for even the most established Premier League sides, making the double all the more notable in context.

Looking ahead, attention will turn to how City approach the summer transfer window and whether Guardiola, who has previously discussed the long-term demands of management at the highest level, continues into a second decade at the club. With the Champions League and a sustained Premier League challenge both on the agenda for 2026/27, the foundations laid this season will be closely scrutinised.