Tag: Man City

Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva says winning the Treble for a second consecutive year is an “inspiration and motivation”.

City won the Premier League, Champions league and FA Cup last season and are on track to repeat the achievement.

They face Real Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final today following a 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu last week.

“We want to create the legacy. We want two Trebles in a row,” said Silva.”We want four Premier Leagues in a row. We want the Champions League twice in a row. If we win two Trebles in a row that would be legacy.

“[But] in one week we could be out of all the competitions. But we are fighting.”

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City take on Chelsea on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-final and sit top of the Premier League after title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal both lost at the weekend.

While Pep Guardiola’s side are favourites to win all three competitions, they have not always been at their best this season and Silva said there has been a “hangover” from the last campaign.

“To have that hunger to again go is not easy. It’s a mix of having a lot of players injured, having new players and those that have left. New players have to adapt which is not easy,” he said.

“Our feeling inside is to fight as much as we could. We have to fight. We can fight for all three competitions.”

While his players are considering the prospect of a second Treble in a row – something no team has done before – City boss Guardiola says those things are “hypothetical dreams” for now.

“I am not going to say ‘don’t feel this’ to my players, but I have a different opinion. We are far away from those hypothetical dreams,” he said.

“When we are in the final of the FA Cup and two or three games in the Premier League and in the final of the Champions League I will start to think about that.”

After a breathless last-eight encounter in Madrid last week, Guardiola’s side will feel confident knowing they have beaten Real Madrid in their past three home games, including a 4-0 thrashing in last year’s semi-final.

Guardiola said City must have the “right energy” to prevent 14-time champions Real getting the better of them but that he does not fear Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

“If you think we have done it already it’s not good. We need that hunger to perform against teams,” the Spaniard said.

“I don’t fear Real Madrid. I respect them a lot. I have faced them many times. I’m not going to talk great things about them, and give you my opinion. And if I say I’m scared of them, it would be false.”

City will be boosted by the return of defender Kyle Walker, who has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury on England duty last month.

“He [Walker] has had one or two training sessions,” said Guardiola. “He feels good with his mood. I don’t know if [he will play] from the beginning, or from the bench, but he will be with us tomorrow.

“It is incredible good news for many reasons. He is our captain and in last year’s matches played against players like Vinicius, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe and he knows how to defend them like nobody else.”

Midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is also expected to return after pulling out of the starting 11 just before the first leg kicked off at the Bernabeu last week.

Nathan Ake did not travel to Madrid last week but was back in the squad for City’s 5-1 win over Luton Town on Saturday.

Real remain without Thibaut Courtois and David Alaba, who are recovering from anterior cruciate ligament injuries, while French midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni misses out having accumulated three yellow cards in Europe this season.

Italian referee Daniele Orsato and VAR Massimiliano Irrati have been assigned to the massive Champions League clash between Manchester City and Real Madrid for the third time.

The first leg of the quarter-final ended 3-3 at the Bernabeu and was widely considered one of the most entertaining fixtures ever in this tournament.

Now it is all to play for at the Etihad and UEFA have given the reins to an all-Italian refereeing team.

Orsato will be the referee tomorrow , with Ciro Carbone and Alessandro Giallatini as the assistants, plus Maurizio Mariani as the fourth official.

As Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is Italian and Pep Guardiola speaks excellent Italian too, there should be no difficulty communicating on the touchline.

Read Also: Man City thrash Luton to go top of table

In the VAR booth, Irrati is assisted by Paolo Valeri. Orsato is a 48-year-old referee from Vicenza who recently officiated the EURO 2024 play-off between Wales and Poland, which went to penalties.

He was named Best Referee of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Curiously, this is the third time that Orsato will be the ref for matches between these two clubs.

He also oversaw the 2-1 away win for Manchester City in the Round of 16 in February 2020 and the 3-1 extra time Real Madrid victory in the semi-final second leg in May 2022.

His record with Real Madrid is of four victories and four defeats with one red card, which went to Sergio Ramos in the loss to Manchester City in 2020.

The Citizens have a good record with Orsato of four wins and two defeats, most recently their September 2022 group stage win over Borussia Dortmund.

Manchester City moved top of the Premier League for at least a day with a predictably dominant victory over struggling Luton Town.

City led after only 65 seconds at Etihad Stadium when Erling Haaland’s wayward volley hit Luton’s Daiki Hashioka before flying into the net.

It took City more than an hour to double their lead through Mateo Kovacic’s sweet, rising strike from near the edge of the area.

Haaland put the game beyond any doubt with a penalty after Jeremy Doku was fouled by Fred Onyedinma.

Just after City made a double change, Ross Barkley took advantage of a Matheus Nunes mistake to pull one back for the Hatters.

Read Also: EPL: Man City move top after thrashing Luton

But Doku cut in from the left to slot a fine solo goal into the bottom corner.

The impressive Doku set up City’s fifth as he picked out Josko Gvardiol, who slammed a beauty into the top corner – the defender’s second goal in a week having not scored for City before that.

City are two points clear at the top, although Liverpool – at home to Crystal Palace – and Arsenal, who host Aston Villa, can move back above them on Sunday.

City have done something they have not managed yet this season, winning a league game without Rodri.

The influential midfielder has missed three league games this season through suspension, the only three defeats City have experienced in the league.

He said he needed a rest after Tuesday’s 3-3 Champions League quarter-final thriller with Real Madrid and manager Pep Guardiola obliged. Rodri was on the bench but City did not need him.

Manchester City will face Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea in their 2024-25 pre-season tour to the United States in July, the Premier League club said.

City, third in the league standings and aiming to repeat the treble, will kick off their preparation for the new campaign against Scottish Premiership side Celtic on July 23 before playing Serie A’s Milan at the Yankee Stadium four days later.

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They will then travel to Florida to take on manager Pep Guardiola’s former club, Barcelona, on July 30 and end the four-match tour with a game against Chelsea on Aug. 3.

Having toured Asia before the current season, City return to the U.S. following their 2022 pre-season visit.

Rodri  believes Manchester City will embrace the challenge of having to be almost perfect in their remaining 10 matches to win a record-breaking fourth straight Premier League title.

Sunday’s thrilling 1-1 draw at Anfield left Pep Guardiola’s side in third place but only a point behind Arsenal, who top the table on goal difference from Liverpool.

City’s next league game is against Arsenal at the end of the month, with challenging fixtures against Aston Villa and Tottenham looming.

Sunday’s draw was only the second time Pep Guardiola’s team have dropped points in the league since mid-December and Spain midfielder Rodri is confident they can put together another winning run.

 “We need a break. We have the FA Cup game (against Newcastle) and then go to the international teams so it will be good for us to refresh and give the last push at the end of the season,” he said. “We know how good we are in the last part of the season, we just need to charge the batteries again and focus on the last 10 games.

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 “It seems you have to win nine or 10 games to win this Premier League. This is the challenge and we are going to go for it.”Rodri said last season’s treble winners were not at their best against Liverpool despite taking the lead through John Stones and having the better of the first half.

Liverpool hit back strongly after the break and following Alex Mac Allister’s equalising penalty, it was the hosts who looked more likely to win.

 “An incredible game. We started really well in terms of chances and dominance and I think it was quite good. The second half was their half,” said the City midfielder.

He added: “They are fighting for the Premier League like us and we got a point. It means a lot.

 “We are there in the fight and this club is about the mentality of the team. Sometimes when we don’t play well, (it’s important) we don’t lose.

 “Sometimes it is the opposite and we are the team who has to defend a little bit more. We didn’t create many chances and it is what it is, we have to adapt sometimes.

 “We wanted three points, but in the final analysis it is fair.”