Blues hero: ‘Let’s go FOUR it...’
‘KEEPER SAYS THERE IS A BELIEF THE BLUES CAN MAKE CLEAN SWEEP
CLAUDIO Bravo admits there is a belief in the City squad that they can win all four trophies.
But the Blues goalkeeper, hero of the hour as they reached the Carabao Cup semi-finals, says they have shelved all thoughts of achieving a task deemed impossible by manager Pep Guardiola.
Bravo saved a penalty from Riyad Mahrez in the shoot-out at Leicester to claim victory.
Guardiola has repeatedly ruled out any chance of City becoming the first English team to win all three domestic trophies plus the Champions League.
But Bravo, who has become a useful deputy to number one Ederson, says that the players have to believe it.
“We must believe it will come but I don’t think we should look that far away,” said Bravo.
“Keep it step-by-step, 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.”
It was hardly a bold statement – Bravo simply makes the point that if you don’t believe you can win one of the competitions, what would be the point of taking part?
But at the moment City are transforming the old cliche of taking each game as it comes – last week’s successive victories against United, Swansea and Spurs defied logic.
And Bravo, who witnessed the strength of Guardiola’s legacy at Barcelona, thinks the manager’s methodical approach is helping to keep them rolling from win to win.
“The most important thing is being consistent, working hard day in day out, and keep focusing every game, keep beating records – and it’s important to be strong every time you play and that helps you achieve your ambition,” said Bravo. The Chile international has had to take a back seat to Ederson this season, but has been a hero in the Carabao Cup with key roles in two penalty shoot-out wins. And while he has clearly had to take a step backwards after a harrowing debut season for the Blues, Bravo says he is enjoying being part of an amazing run of results. “I’m really happy, the team is doing great,” he said. “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 Tuesday happen.” And he said that his deputy role has not changed a thing – he continues to prepare as if he is playing in every game. “You have to be professional, work hard, get ready,” he said.
We must believe it will come but I don’t think we should look that far away Claudio Bravo