Guardiola urges Man City to maintain high standards 



Pep Guardiola expects Manchester City's performance to dip after their Premier League triumph but has urged his treble-chasing side to maintain their high standards ahead of the FA Cup and Champions League final, the manager said on Tuesday.

City, who were promoted aftersecond-placed Arsenal beatNottingham Forest at the weekend, have now won 12 games in a row in the top flight. City have 88 points from 36 games, more than Arsenal, who have just one.
But City now have their sights set on immortality by beating Manchester United in the FA Cup and Inter Milan in the Champions League. "The best way to prepare for the final is to be ready. We have set these standards and we will keep them," Guardiola told reporters before Wednesday's trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the sixth round. "It's normal for usto fail because we've put in a lot of effort, we've spent a lot of energy and as soon as we liftthe cup, it's normal for us to fail. "Teams can hurt us and we have to change the way we play in both games to reach United and Inter in the best possible way." 

The Spaniard has praised Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi for leading his side intoEuropean football next year for the first time in the club's history.

Brighton are sixth in the table with 61 points and need just one point from their last two games to secure a direct Europa League place, ahead of seventh-placed Aston Villa. "Roberto de Zerbi is one of the most influential managers of the last 20 years. No team plays - that's something special," said Guardiola. "I felt when he arrived in the Premier League that the impact would be big,but I couldn't expect him to do that in such a short time.

"He's better than all the opponents, he handles the ball in a way I haven't seen in a long time." 

Guardiola says Dutch defender Nathan Ake is improving but City are cautious if they 'wanthim for United or Inter'.

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