The quadruple is on for Guardiola
History beckons for Manchester City.
The clean sweep is on. They will never have a better chance to become the first English side to complete the quadruple.
Such are the standards set by Pep Guardiola, winning one trophy will not meet expectations this season — even if it is the Premier League. Defending the title is the minimum requirement. Pep wants more. City appointed him to achieve more.
Now the club is on the threshold of rewriting the script of what is achievable for an English side in one season.
Realistic target
The Carabao Cup Final is coming, the FA Cup draw has opened up with so many Premier League sides out, City are back on top of the Premier League and no one in Europe wants to face them should they get past Schalke in the Champions League round of 16.
No matter how much Guardiola wants to tell the world the quadruple is not and never has been a realistic target, do not believe him.
At the start of this season he designed a squad to compete for every honour and his team selections betray his true feelings. His squad rotation has ensured a high-class starting side in each fixture, regardless of the calibre of the opponent in the early rounds of the cup. He has not been prepared to sacrifice any game by giving a host of Academy or Under 23 players experience. With good reason, he thinks City can win every match.
Guardiola was appointed by City with his position as a football visionary already secure due to his work in Barcelona and, to a lesser extent, Bayern Munich, but he must have recognised the only way he could be spoken about in the same glowing terms for his work in England was to go beyond what none thought possible in this country.
That remains his challenge.
For every other club in English history, the quadruple has never been on the agenda. Not even Alex Ferguson or Bob Paisley’s best teams were able to manoeuvre themselves into a position where it was worthy of speculation, let alone realistic.
Guardiola has already led his club into unchartered territory by making it [the quadruple] possible. English football’s first domestic treble is more feasible than it has ever been.
If he achieves that, his place in this country's history will certainly be secure — but the rest of the world will still be asking, “Where is the European Cup?”
No matter how many league titles he wins, the Champions League will ultimately determine whether we come to view Guardiola’s City triumph as an English or European success story.
Manchester City face a stern test of their Premier League title credentials when they host Chelsea today, and Harry Winks insists Tottenham still have a chance in the race as they prepare to host Leicester earlier.
“Now comes a big test, a big goal. Chelsea are an exceptional team who have had seven days to prepare,” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “It really is a final for us this weekend. If we are able to take these points, it is a huge step forward.”
While Chelsea had been in turmoil until last weekend’s rout of Huddersfield, Maurizio Sarri’s team did inflict City’s first league defeat since April with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge in December.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs are most pundits’ outsiders for the title, having won their last three games.
Winning the English title for the first time since 1961 would be miraculous as Spurs haven’t signed a player in two transfer windows.
With City and Liverpool still to face the north Londoners, Winks is adamant they can’t be counted out. “We lost to Wolves and people said that we were out of the title race and it’s time for us to get top four and then we won against Newcastle and people say we are back in it,” Winks said. “We don’t get involved in that whirlwind, all we do is take it game by game and focus.” —