Pep Guardiola Calls Quadruple 'Almost Impossible' Despite Reaching FA Cup Final

Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City will find it hard to win the quadruple this season, despite guiding the club to the 2019 FA Cup final.

Guardiola's squad scraped past Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 in Saturday's semi-final at Wembley Stadium. It was a laboured performance but one the manager has defended:

The hard-earned result has positioned the Citizens to add to the Carabao Cup retained at Chelsea's expense in February. City will also be tipped to get past Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final, with the first leg of the tie to be held on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Guardiola's men also trail Liverpool by two points in the Premier League title race but have a game in hand as they bid to retain the trophy won with a record 100 points last season.

While City will be favourites to beat whomever wins Sunday's FA Cup semi-final between Watford and Wolverhampton Wanderers, Guardiola's players will have to perform better than they did against the Seagulls.

They went ahead after just four minutes when Gabriel Jesus headed in from close range. Yet relegation-threatened Brighton proceeded to frustrate a strong City lineup.

Not only did the Citizens find it difficult to create chances, they were also forced into some desperate defending:

The demands of going after four trophies appear to be taking their toll both physically and mentally, even on a squad with incredible strength in depth. It's no doubt why Guardiola is trying his best to temper expectations, even slightly, and ease the growing pressure on his players to produce history.

Managing expectations and fixture congestion is becoming increasingly difficult for Guardiola amid a steadily growing list of injuries. He was without star striker Sergio Aguero for the trip to Wembley after the striker missed Wednesday's win over Cardiff City with a muscular issue.

Guardiola no doubt wants to keep his most prolific goalscorer fresh for the Champions League, as well as the crunch period in the domestic title race. Yet Aguero isn't the only key player whose fitness needs to be carefully managed.

Raiding left-back Benjamin Mendy made his return after not featuring since January, and Guardiola assessed his performance while also detailing Aguero's status ahead of upcoming fixtures:

City also missed defenders Oleksandr Zinchenko and Vincent Kompany. Meanwhile, Kevin De Bruyne started but didn't complete 90 minutes, something he has managed just three times during an injury-interrupted campaign.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp will hope Guardiola is feeling the heat of fighting on all fronts, since the Reds are in a good position to secure their first top-flight title since 1990.

Even so, not even Liverpool can compete with the depth at Guardiola's disposal. He was able to call on a proven goalscorer in Jesus to cover Aguero's absence, while Ilkay Gundogan has filled in admirably for key holding midfielder Fernandinho.

City could even afford to leave the likes of Leroy Sane, Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden on the bench at Wembley.

Guardiola might be trying to downplay it, but few squads have been so well-equipped to claim an unprecedented quadruple.