Shearer: Man City wants Champions League title the most
LONDON (Reuters) – Manchester City will end the season disappointed if they fail to win the Champions League for the first time, according to former England captain Alan Shearer.
Pep Guardiola’s side bagged the League Cup last week with a 3-0 thumping of Arsenal and is 16 points clear in the Premier League with nine games left after beating the Gunners and Chelsea over the weekend.
Barring a monumental collapse, City will win at least two trophies this season, but Shearer believes European bragging rights are what the club’s Abu Dhabi owners crave most.
“No matter how many domestic trophies City win this season, they would probably be disappointed if they failed to win the Champions League too,” pundit Shearer told the BBC’s website.
“They want to win everything, but they want the Champions League most of all. It is the trophy that has eluded them in the 10 years since Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008 and, ultimately, winning it is what Guardiola was hired for.”
City won 4-0 away to Basel in the first leg of their last-16 clash making Wednesday’s Etihad return a formality.
“They have only got past the last16 once before, when they reached the semi-finals in 2016, but they are as good as in the quarterfinals this time,” he said.
“Again, it has been a case of so far, so good – but we will not truly know how good this City side is until they meet a team like Barcelona, Bayern Munich or whoever comes through the Real Madrid versus Paris Saint Germain tie.
“Those big hitters will offer the real test.”
City needs a maximum of six more Premier League wins to secure the title and emulate the team of Manuel Pellegrini, who won the League Cup and Premier League double for the club in 2014.
But Shearer believes Guardiola’s MANCHESTER CITY forward Raheem Sterling is closing in on a return to action having recovered from a hamstring injury, but the club is unsure if the 23-year-old will feature in City’s Champions League last-16 second leg tonight at home against Basel. side can go to another level and possibly win the treble.
“They would turn an excellent season into an unbelievable one if they were to win the Champions League as well,” Shearer said. “Only two English teams have ever done a Treble combining the European Cup or Champions League, the league title and a domestic cup in a single season – Liverpool in 1984 and Manchester United in 1999.
“That shows how just hard it is to do. As good as City has been, and as strong as the squad is, it will be a big ask for them to join that elite list.”
Plaudits fine but Dembele wants trophies at Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele is pleased to be earning praise from his manager but the Belgian says he wants to finish the season on a high and collect silverware.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino hailed Dembele a “genius” and compared his ability with the likes of Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho after his dominant performance secured a 2-2 draw at Juventus in the first leg of Champions League last-16 tie.
Ahead of the second leg at Wembley on Wednesday, Dembele, who last won a league title with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar almost 10 years ago, said he would like to finish his career with a few more winners’ medals.
“Pochettino speaks a lot with me and gives me confidence. He’s mentioned these kinds of things to me in the past,” Dembele told British media.
“Obviously he’s been giving me confidence and it’s a good thing, but you always want to win something, so it doesn’t change my role.
“It’s a good feeling. Everybody likes to be appreciated. It’s a good feeling, but there’s so much to play for still.”
Dembele appeared to be limping after being substituted in the 2-0 league victory over Huddersfield Town on Saturday but said he was fine.
“I feel good, to be honest. I’ve played a lot of games, and automatically, if I play a lot of games, I feel fitter, much stronger, and good,” he added.
After seeing his team beat Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in Europe this season, the 30-yearold is confident they have enough firepower to cope with the Italian champions.
“The Champions League is a different type of tournament and anything can happen, and obviously we have a lot of confidence, against Juve and Real... we’re not scared of them. The thing is now we have to keep focused,” Dembele said.
(Reuters)