Skipper says there’ll be no taking it easy in quad chase
CITY skipper Vincent Kompany has told his glory-seeking team that there must be no let-up in the chase for four trophies.
And the big Belgian’s words might be sobering for League One leaders Wigan, who might be hoping that pre-occupation with Champions League and the Carabao Cup final might allow them to record a third successive FA Cup upset on Monday.
Kompany again played 90 minutes as City swatted Basel 4-0 in Switzerland to virtually book a quarter-final place in the European competition – and now face the Latics for a place in the FA Cup last-eight.
But Kompany said: “We have just as much desire to play well against Wigan on Monday as we did in Basel.
“There will be no difference. We will go into the League Cup Final with the same kind of preparation and self-belief as we did for the last game and as long as that doesn’t change, and the intensity stays at that level, every game is exciting for us.”
Burn-out would appear to be City’s biggest enemy but with two-goal Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva now performing at a high level, and with David Silva, Fabian Delph and Leroy Sane back from injury – and Gabriel Jesus due in training next week – the Blues are getting stronger.
“The fact of the matter is that we would not be in four competitions if it was not for so many players being able to perform at this level,” said Kompany.
“Getting numbers back is crucial now because we have 11 important Premier League games to play, and the League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League.
“It’s just not possible to do them all with the same 11.” FERNANDINHO has put his finger on exactly what makes this City side so different from teams of the past.
The Blues’ Brazilian ace was at his super-efficient best as they rattled up a 4-0 lead from the first leg of the Champions League last-16 at FC Basel.
And he said that the intense focus on preparation which surrounds every game is keeping their minds clear of the hype and excitement being generated by their hunt for the elusive quadruple.
The rest of Europe are wondering if City can pull off a feat that has never before been achieved – but Fernandinho says they are simply looking at the next training session, and the next match.
And if they keep doing that, this team will be defined by what it does between now and May.
“We know the definitions are coming on the next three or four months,” said Fernandinho.
“But we keep thinking game-bygame and that’s important. We’re not trying to reach further than is possible.
“That’s a virtue we’ve got. We have incredible preparation for each game. The focus is 100 per cent.
“Probably that’s our uniqueness, we don’t listen to the buzz around us.”
Whether they can stay unswayed by the fervour growing around them as all four competitions reach their sharp ends, and the Blues are playing finals, semi-finals and title crunches, remain to be seen.
But the way the team has been playing generates a belief that they can just keep on winning, whether the opposition is Wigan or Barcelona.
“We can’t deny that our confidence is really high, seeing that we’re getting good results, the way we’ve been playing and scoring,” said the Brazilian.
“The team is getting more and more confident and that’s the way to get our goals - go through in Champions League, keep our position in the Premier League and try to get the title as soon as possible, plus our chances in the English cups.”
City have all but booked their place in the quarter-finals, with only the second leg at the Etihad Stadium to negotiate on March 7. And it will be only the second time in seven successive years of qualifying for the competition that they have gone so far. Fernandinho reinforced the feeling that this City team is better equipped than any that have gone before and echoed the prematch thoughts of skipper Vincent Kompany, who said that this might just be the year City can break the stranglehold of Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid. “I’ve been here for five years and I’ve shared some painful days in Champions League with him (Kompany),” he said. “So we want to change it. I know the way is hard but we’re working a lot to try to end the dominance of those three clubs. “Like I’ve said – game-by-game. We’ve made a great performance and we have to make it again at home to think about the quarterfinals.” Fernandinho