Pep Guardiola jokes about what Manchester United need to challenge for the title

Pep Guardiola has congratulated Erik ten Hag and Manchester United on their Carabao Cup victory over Newcastle United.

Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were the two with their names on the scoresheet as Manchester United bested Newcastle 2-0 to earn Erik ten Hag his first trophy as United manager.

Speaking on the victory, Pep Guardiola seemed honest in his assessment of the fixture, saying well done to the Reds and branding the game “entertaining.”

Congratulations to United for the Carabao Cup and to Newcastle as well – the game was entertaining,” he said on Monday.

“Sooner or later it should happen, shouldn’t it? It should happen. Welcome.”

When Guardiola was asked if United could now ‘kick on’ and become serious title challengers, Guardiola said with a broad grin: “If they spend a little more money, yes! It’s because they didn’t spend, isn’t it?

It’s normal, they’re in the position they normally should be. The reality is that two teams, Liverpool and ourselves, have done incredibly well in the numbers.

“When I landed here I thought United would always be there, for the history, for everything, and Erik is doing an incredible job.

It’s normal. United have to be there. Always having been opponents we were better in the previous seasons and now it’s closer. Anything can happen in the Premier League.”

Manchester City are no strangers to the Carabao Cup. Under Pep Guardiola’s guide, they have won the competition four times – more than any other side in the same time frame.

Recalling his first Carabao Cup trophy win, Guardiola explained fond memories.

He said: “I remember when we travelled to win our first Carabao Cup and everyone was so excited to do it. For the staff it was new, for the players it was new.”

However, he jibed that the club have now won the competition so many times that it became just “another day in the office” for him and Man City.

“The fourth time we travelled there to win the Carabao Cup for the fourth time in a row, it was, ‘Well, it’s OK, another one, another day in the office’.”

For Ten Hag and United, this was no normal day.