Marmoush has final say for City as Pep leads the celebrations

BRACE yourselves, Pep Guardiola may really be off this time.

- By SIMON BAJKOWSKI

City players celebrate Omar Marmoush's second goal

Any more leaps like the one that accompanied City’s third goal and the manager's back is going to decide his future for him.

As it is, the sight of the 55-year-old twirling around his technical area and shaking his fists in joy at his 21-year-old Uzbek centre-back was a welcome reminder of the energy that is still alive and well at the Etihad.

If Guardiola isn’t to see out his contract until 2027 - and it remains a big if he will leave a squad that is good enough to compete for trophies.

City saved their best performance of the season for the first leg of this semifinal, holding their nerve in the northeast and then producing two moments of quality to take a 2-0 advantage.

After Sunday's collapse at Spurs though, there were more nerves than there should have been for the visit of Eddie Howe's side.