Pep Guardiola etched his name in the history books at Manchester City when he led the club to its first Champions League trophy and a treble-winning season last campaign. The victory has further raised expectations in Guardiola’s City team, leading many to believe the feat can be repeated.
A quest for a quadruple ended yesterday as Newcastle beat a much-rotated City side 1-0 to progress to the fourth round of the League Cup. After crashing out of the Carabao Cup, Guardiola hinted at his plan to win another treble this season, which will make Manchester City one of the few clubs to achieve this feat in Europe.
Pep Guardiola issues bold statement after Carabao Cup exit
Pep Guardiola has issued a bold statement to the rest of the Premier League and Europe about Manchester City’s quest to conquer football again this season. His City team crashed out early in the Carabao Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle on Wednesday night, and Guardiola has claimed that his team’s aspirations are not as big as a quadruple.
“You think the target was the quadruple?” Guardiola asked the assembled media. “We are more than happy with the treble. Congratulations to Newcastle. They were very good tonight, credits to them,” he concluded.
Guardiola’s statement may be a note of warning to the rest of the Premier League that his team is not backing down from challenging on all fronts this season despite the early exit from the Carabao Cup. Manchester City sit at the summit of the Premier League table with a two-point lead over Liverpool after going on an unbeaten run in their opening six Premier League games.
City also cruised to a 3-1 victory over Red Star Belgrade in their opening UCL game of the season, sitting top of Group G with three points and a goal difference of two.
Newcastle United defeat Manchester City
Guardiola’s Manchester City succumbed to a 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. Guardiola heavily rotated his squad to give some players minutes, with the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Sergio Gomez, Rico Lewis, and Stefan Ortega starting a game for the first time this season. This may have affected the team’s balance as a second-half goal by Isak sealed the win for the Magpies.
Man City’s focus will now shift to Saturday’s Premier League game away to Wolves as the Citizens look to further cement their spot at the top of the Premier League table.
Can Manchester City win the treble again this season? Tell us your predictions in the comments section.
