The Pep Guardiola winning machine rolls on

It is entirely fitting that in the afterglow of winning yet another trophy, Pep Guardiola was already thinking about winning more.

"Now we rest and prepare for the (Champions League semi-final) first leg against Paris Saint-Germain, then after that we are two games away from trying to win the most important title of the season," Guardiola said after watching his Manchester City side beat Tottenham on Sunday afternoon to win the Carabao Cup for a fourth time in a row.

"The Premier League is the nicest one, the one where I am most proud when we are able to do it,” he added.

"We are 10 points clear, we need two victories, and in between the games in this crazy schedule we are going to try to win the next one against Crystal Palace."

The record-equalling feat, secured when Aymeric Laporte headed in with eight minutes remaining at Wembley, saw City pick up the first trophy of what could be many as many as three this season.

The Premier League will finally be won, as Guardiola is aware, with two more victories while the Champions League, long the Spaniard's primary target, is now only three wins away.

But despite the looming first leg with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, Guardiola went strong against Spurs, with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden and Ruben Dias all starting.

What resulted was an almost complete performance, one where City's utter dominance on proceedings - they had 21 attempts at goal - was only not reflected in the 1-0 final scoreline.

"We cannot deny one eye is always on the Champions League," he said. "(But) I have to be honest with myself and I thought they were ready to play in this selection.

"We arrive in these last stages, as we did this season and in previous seasons, because we take every game seriously. If not it is impossible to win four Carabao Cups in a row."

The Champions League remains Guardiola's Holy Grail, however, having fallen at the quarter-final hurdle four seasons in a row since moving to Manchester.

But Borussia Dortmund were vanquished in the quarter-finals earlier this month leaving City in the last four for only the second time in their history.

French champions PSG are the next team in the way of what would, in all likelihood, be a 32nd trophy of a glittering career.

The man himself is happier to point to the quality of the teams he has been able to manage in that time, though.

"It was good in big clubs, Barca, Bayern, here. That's why it's easy to do it," he added.

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Sunday’s win was played out in front of 2,000 of City's own supporters at Wembley, with the match serving as the first major final with fans for more than a year following the coronavirus pandemic.

Guardiola admitted it gave him extra pleasure to deliver the victory in front of the City faithful at long last.

"We went out to play at an incredible level, with incredible quality," he added.

"I'm so delighted for the guys and, for the guys who didn't play, the first thought is always for them. They deserved to play but unfortunately they couldn't.

"It was the fourth time in a row. It was a nice competition - Arsenal, Man Utd away and Spurs to win it.

"It was more than well deserved and it was good for us to share it with our people. There was some good noise. We did it for them. They represented the people at home."

They will hope it is just the first of many. With Guardiola at the helm it's a fair bet it will be.