SWEEP DREAMS
Pep is playing down Quadruple talk but Bravo admits the players are starting to believe it’s on
MANCHESTER CITY’S players believe an historic Quadruple is within their grasp – even if boss Pep Guardiola has dismissed a clean sweep as unrealistic.
City, who hold an 11-point lead at the top of the Premier League and are favourites for the Champions League, progressed to the semi-finals of the League Cup with a penalty shootout win over Leicester.
Guardiola’s men also have a home tie in the FA Cup against Burnley, whom they have already beaten 3-0 in the league at the Etihad this season.
While Guardiola (below) has rubbished the notion City can win all four trophies, to eclipse the historic 1999 Treble triumph of local rivals Manchester United, his players are starting to believe it could happen.
City’s shootout hero, Claudio Bravo (left), whose spot-kicks ave fromRiy ad Mahrez saw them go through on Tuesday, said they believe it can be done – but cannot afford to look too far ahead.
“We must believe it will come, but I don’t think we should look that far away,” said Bravo. “Keep it game by game and competition to competition, and, at the end of the year, the goals will arrive.
“We haven’t won anything so far, we haven’t lifted any trophy, so anything we’ve done doesn’t matter until we win.
“We must stay calm, keep working hard, and also congratulate the young lads for their performances.
“I’m happy, but we had to suffer in this match, like we did in the last match against Wolves.
“We ended up in the penalty shootout, which is not the kind of situation we love, but we were lucky. Hopefully, in the next round, we’ll be able to solve it earlier.”
Despite being deposed as City No.1 by £35million summer signing Ederson, who has been a key factor in Guardiola’s side’s incredible run this season, Bravo claimed he is still enjoying life at the Etihad.
Bravo endured a tough first season at City, after being brought in from Barcelona for £16m. The Chile keeper struggled to adapt to the Premier League’s physicality, leading to the signing of Ederson.
But the 34-year-old, who has been restricted to three League Cup outings and one sub appearance in the league, when Ederson went off injured, said he remains happy, even in the role of understudy.
“I’m really happy, the team is doing great,” added Bravo. “Even if I compete or not, we enjoy everything.
“It’s a lot of hard team work and you must work hard and be ready to play when situations like this (the penalty shootout) happen. It’s all of us, we need to keep working and have the chance to play.
“It’s important to be strong every time you play and that helps you achieve your ambition.
“Life is not only about football, life involves a lot more. I have a family to consider, they are living in Manchester, we are thrilled the kids are learning the language to perfection.
“These are things that we expect as a family, setting aside whether I’m competing or not. It’s all about being calm, keep doing my job when I’m called upon, and being patient.
“In that sense, I’m calm. At my age I’m not going crazy.”