Pep Guardiola wishes Manchester City had not beaten Chelsea 6-0 in the Premier League as he believes this will only motivate them more in the Carabao Cup final.
City thrashed the Blues earlier this month in a dominant performance at the Etihad Stadium.
It was Chelsea’s heaviest defeat in the Premier League and the first time they had conceded six goals.
The loss put Maurizio Sarri under immense pressure and winning the final on Sunday could alleviate some of that.
Guardiola insists the 6-0 result matters little now and is even wary of a Chelsea backlash.
He said: “In that moment I was so happy to beat them 6-0 but in this moment I have would preferred not to have beaten them 6-0.
“I don’t like to play in a short period of time when you’ve beaten the team once before. They are incredible professional players, they are proud, they will do extra. When we lost 2-0 at Stamford Bridge we could not accept defeat at home.
“But it is what it is. We are going to prepare mentally as well as possible, play the final, play the type of game you need to play in a final and try to win.”
The Manchester City boss also called into question Chelsea’s short-term managerial appointments ahead of the cup final, which you can hear live on talkSPORT.
While City are at Wembley, their chief title rivals Liverpool will be playing Manchester United in a crucial Premier League game at Old Trafford but they will not be paying any attention to the result.
Guardiola said: “I think for that game we will be in the stadium, preparing, changing socks, pants, T-shirts, warming up, underwear. We will be getting ready to play the game. We won’t have time to look at that game.”