Gareth Taylor says Pep Guardiola is ‘avid’ fan of Man City women and has shared pearls of wisdom ahead of FA Cup final

MANCHESTER CITY women boss, Gareth Taylor, revealed Pep Guardiola has been sharing his pearls of wisdom ahead of the FA Cup final.

The Citizens are looking to defend their trophy as they take on Everton at Wembley on Sunday afternoon for the mouthwatering showpiece.

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Gareth Taylor will lead Manchester City women out against Everton at Wembley for the FA Cup final on Sunday[/caption]

The women will face off for the 2019-20 final that was supposed to be played out in May, but had to be postponed amid the coronavirus crisis.

Taylor has been racking the brains of Etihad boss, Guardiola, who led the men’s side to victory in a historic 6-0 thrashing over Watford last year. 

They completed the first domestic clean sweep by a male team but the women had ALREADY reached that milestone.

Pep has been closely following the women’s progress this year in in the lead up to their big day at the national stadium.

Taylor said: “I like to speak to a lot of people. I managed to speak to the manager, Pep, a couple of weeks ago.

“And the first thing he asked me was, ‘when is the final!?’, so you know it’s great that he’s keeping an avid interest in it as well.

“He has been hugely supportive, considering the amount of games and the heavy schedule that they’ve got on their plate, playing Champions League and then back to the Premier League.

“That’s the beauty of being at City. It really does feel like a family, and everyone’s really behind us and supporting us and wanting us to do well.”

In 2019 Pep brutally shutdown a reporter ahead of the men’s FA Cup final, who said: “You’ve got the prospect of winning the first ever domestic treble in this country.

To which the Spanish boss coolly replied: “The first time for the men. The women have won it.”

Everton chief Carlo Ancelotti arranged a video call with women’s manager Willie Kirk this week to wish him and his side good luck. 

The Italian boss, who lifted the FA Cup trophy in 2010 with Chelsea, told Kirk: “To play the final is always exciting. In Italy we used to say, ‘you don’t have to play the final, you have to win the final!’

“It is a great achievement to play a final of the FA Cup. Good memories, fantastic atmosphere.

“I will have to record the game because you play at the same time as us! We are all behind you.”

You can watch live coverage of the Women’s FA Cup final on Sunday 1 November, on BBC One, iPlayer and BBC Sport, with kick off 2.30pm.