Blues no favourites of Chelsea manager

CITY have beaten Chelsea home and away in the Premier League this season and have already ended their title defence but Antonio Conte does not rate their chances in Europe.

Pep Guardiola, who lifted his last Champions League title in 2011, is looking to take the Blues into unchartered territory in the competition as they await today’s quarter-final draw.

City have been hailed as one of the best teams across the continent during a season in which they have already broken several records and looks set to carry on.

That level of performance has raised hopes that the team could beat their best ever Champions League run, when they reached the semi-finals in 2016 under Manuel Pellegrini before a limp exit to Real Madrid.

However, the manager has stressed a number of times that they are handicapped by their relative lack of experience among the European giants.

Antonio Conte presumably thinks along similar lines as he did not name City among his favourites for the Champions League despite naming four of the eight teams left.

Speaking after a 3-0 defeat at the Nou Camp confirmed Chelsea’s last-16 exit, he said: “Barcelona, with Madrid and Juventus and Bayern, these four teams are favourites to win.

“We are talking about a team [Barcelona] that has won the Champions League and arrive at the end with the same teams.”