Man City out to grab silver lining in Champions League
WITH UEFA ALLEGATIONS IN THE PAST, NOW GUARDIOLA’S MEN TARGET CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TROPHY
With their place safely secured back at Europe’s top table, Manchester City can forget all about off-field affairs and get back down to trophyhunting business on Friday as they look to end Spanish giants Real Madrid’s season at the Etihad tonight.
Last month, Pep Guardiola’s side cleared their name over any financial wrongdoings at the Court of Arbitration for Sports and have seen their Uefa Champions League ban revoked.
Now, almost with a point to prove, they will be desperate to get their hands on the one trophy that has been missing from their cabinet over the past silverware-laden decade.
What a perfect riposte to Uefa’s unfounded allegations it would be if City were to win the competition ...
The Champions League the one City want most, as defender Aymeric Laporte admitted ahead of their last-16 second leg against Real Madrid.
City have dominated English football in recent years under Pep Guardiola, although they finished second to Liverpool in the Premier League this season, but have yet to add Europe’s most coveted prize to their trophy cabinet. “City have unfinished business in the Champions
League, we have been talking about it for a long time, it’s the thing we are missing,” Laporte told Spanish newspaper AS.
“Last year we won four trophies in the same season but couldn’t win the Champions League, so if it’s our turn this year, perfect.”
‘Have all ingredients’
City were knocked out in the quarter-finals last year on away goals by Tottenham Hotspur after having a last-gasp effort ruled out by a VAR review. They were beaten on away goals by Monaco in the last 16 in 2017.
“I don’t know what we’ve
Juventus’ Paulo Dybala (right) battles for the ball with Sampdoria’s Julian Chabot during a Serie A match at the Allianz stadium in Turin last month. Inset: Aymeric Laporte.
been doing wrong as the team has been the same in the last few years. Away goals have been key. Last year Tottenham scored the same number of goals as us but eliminated us,” added Laporte.
“We have all the ingredients to do great things. The team is really up for it, we don’t have to change much, we just need a little more luck. We have lacked that final spark which I’m sure we’ll find soon.”
City hold a 2-1 lead over Real going into today’s second leg at an empty Etihad Stadium and will be without all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero through injury. Real will be missing captain Sergio Ramos, who was sent off in the first leg.
In today’s other clash, Juventus trail Lyon and are sweating on an unlikely hero to see them through. On the verge of being sold to Manchester United last summer, Paulo Dybala is once again Juve’s hero as the newly crowned Italian champions race to get him ready for their Champions League showdown.
We have all the ingredients to do great things. The team is really up for it, we don’t have to change much, we just need a little more luck.” Aymeric Laporte » Manchester City centre-back