City find form when it counts
GUARDIOLA: PLAYS DOWN CHANCES OF REPEAT TREBLE
Manchester City and Real Madrid will both be in action when the Uefa Champions League knockout stages begin tomorrow, and it is the last two winners of European football’s greatest prize who appear the strongest contenders to go all the way this season.
Pep Guardiola has been busy playing down City’s chances of repeating their remarkable treble triumph of last year, when they retained the English Premier League title and won the FA Cup before claiming their first-ever Champions League crown.
“We have 99.99% possibility that we are not going to win the treble because it has never, ever, been done,” Guardiola said this week.
Yet City seem to be finding their very best form again just at the right time, and they head to Denmark for tomorrow’s last-16, first leg against FC Copenhagen on a run of 10 straight wins in all competitions.
Copenhagen are into the knockout phase of Europe’s elite club competition for just the second time, and first since 2011.
They held City at home in last season’s group stage and beat Manchester United 4-3 earlier this season at their Parken Stadium, so tomorrow’s game will perhaps not be straightforward for the reigning champions.
But Guardiola’s team will surely be far too strong over two legs, and Madrid should also have too much for RB Leipzig, who they face in Germany first.
Led by Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, Carlo Ancelotti’s side are in superb form in La Liga despite being hampered by a cascade of injuries in defence.
The draw for the last-16, made in December, was somewhat underwhelming, even if the meeting between last season’s runners-up Inter Milan and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid has the makings of a cracker.
It will also be fascinating to see how Barcelona fare against Napoli as the Catalans head into their final months under Xavi Hernandez before their legendary former player departs as coach at the end of the campaign.
Given Napoli’s own difficulties in following up their stunning run to the Serie A title last season, Barcelona will be hopeful of advancing to a first Champions League quarterfinal since 2020.
Bayern Munich travel to face Lazio, reeling from a 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen which leaves their decade-long grip on the Bundesliga title looking more fragile than ever.
A classic quarterfinal line-up could be in store if all the heavyweights avoid shock defeats in the last-16.
Arsenal should be too strong for Porto, while PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund meet in a battle of two outsiders.
Paris Saint-Germain have failed spectacularly in Europe in recent years despite the lavish spending of their Qatari owners and this may be their last chance to win the Champions League with Kylian Mbappe in their ranks.
Understandably their wary supporters may be dreading facing Real Sociedad in Paris. –