How Pep Guardiola finally conquered Man City's FA Cup and Champions League mental block

The FA Cup has never been the kindest competition to Pep Guardiola.

He navigated Manchester City to the 2019 FA Cup to cap an unprecedented domestic treble, but it has otherwise been the most difficult competition he has attacked in the domestic programme. Or, more specifically, the semi-finals have been the most difficult task when it comes to adding even more silverware to his collection.

In four of Guardiola's six attempts before this season, City have been defeated in the FA Cup semi-finals, and were knocked out in the fifth round on another occasion. Tellingly, Guardiola has regularly linked that pattern to the Champions League, so it's a reflection of City's ruthless mentality that they have put another mental block behind them this season in both competitions.

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Other City trophy successes have been won in isolation, or at least alongside league and European campaigns. This year, the FA Cup has had a direct influence on City's Premier League and Champions League campaigns, with each helping the other to leave them closer than they have ever been to a treble.

The fourth round win over Arsenal can be credited with an important role in the title-defining double over the Gunners, and the semi-final win at Wembley showed City can put all their effort into a Champions League quarter final and then reach an FA Cup final in the same week. On two separate occasions this season, Guardiola has challenged his squad to win three huge games in three competitions to stay alive in each. They've passed both tests.

City are often accused of getting easy draws in cup competitions - yet it's largely ignored that Manchester United have been drawn at home for ten successive ties