Manchester City continue ‘building history’ in UEFA Champions League

Manchester City continue ‘building history’ in UEFA Champions League

English soccer side Manchester City are still firmly on course to win a historic quadruple after knocking out German giants Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. A 2-1 second leg victory in Dortmund ensured a comfortable 4-2 aggregate win, securing a place in the semi-finals against Paris Saint Germain (PSG). City boss Pep Guardiola described City’s latest triumph in Westphalia as “building history” in European competition, as they reach the semi-finals of Europe’s biggest club competition for just the second time.

It looked like being a difficult second leg for City after falling behind to a stunning strike from England starlet Jude Bellingham from the edge of the penalty area. However, Guardiola’s troops showed terrific character to haul themselves level through a Riyad Mahrez penalty. Before Bellingham’s international team-mate Phil Foden came up trumps with a fine 75th-minute finish to give City an unassailable lead in the two-legged tie.

Champions League quarters no longer a mental barrier for City

In his post-match press conference, Guardiola could not hide his delight at breaking the “bridge from quarter-finals to semi-finals” that had been something of a mental block in the City roster. For the last three campaigns, City had been knocked out at the quarter-final stage but Guardiola is delighted that his team can now be considered “one of the best four teams in Europe”.

Guardiola was also full of praise for homegrown starlet Phil Foden, who has demonstrated impressive consistency in his first full season in City colors. He insisted that Foden is “always creating something”, helping to fill the void left by long-serving playmaker David Silva who departed the club at the end of last season. Guardiola labelled Foden as “dynamic” both offensively and defensively, before saying that he is a player that “never hides” on the biggest stage.

The stage is due to get that little bit bigger in the coming weeks as Manchester City prepare to lock horns with fellow big-spenders PSG in the Champions League semis. There is a sense that the winner of this semi-final will be the red-hot favorites to win the Champions League outright. City (+120) and PSG (+333) are first and second favorites in the futures betting market with licensed US online sports wagering platform FOX Bet. Real Madrid (+380) and Chelsea (+450), who clash in the other semi-final, are third and fourth favorites respectively.

The City-PSG game could conceivably be worthy of a final, but such is the random nature of the draw that these epic match-ups can crop up along the way. It will be another opportunity for Guardiola to lock horns with PSG’s Argentine boss Mauricio Pochettino, who was fired from his role at Tottenham in the English Premier League (EPL) before making the move to the French capital.

Domestic affairs mean City and PSG must put Champions League semi on the back burner

Unfortunately for both City and PSG, neither side can focus squarely on their Champions League semi. Domestic affairs have to be seen to in the meantime. For PSG, they are surprisingly three points adrift of Ligue 1 leaders Lille, who recently defeated Pochettino’s men 1-0 in their own backyard. Failure to win Ligue 1 would be somewhat unthinkable given the scale of PSG’s resources compared with the rest of the division and the fact that they’ve won five of the last six Ligue 1 titles.

It’s rather less stressful for Manchester City, who know that three more wins in the EPL will be enough for them to clinch the 2020/21 EPL title at a canter. However, they do have the small matter of a Carabao Cup final against Tottenham and an FA Cup semi-final with Chelsea on the horizon.

Pundits and fans alike have been discussing the prospect of City bagging an unprecedented quadruple, with a domestic clean sweep and the Champions League title. Given the shift in City’s make-up and style this season, few would bet against them from doing so. Defensively, they are as hard to beat as they’ve ever been under Guardiola, conceding just 23 goals in their opening 32 EPL games. Combine that with the likes of Sterling, Foden and Agüero lurking in the final third there’s always a goal threat too. Agüero will be desperate to end this season with plenty of silverware in particular. The club’s all-time top scorer has confirmed he is leaving the club at the end of the season.

It’s clear these are heady days for the blue half of Manchester, who could put Manchester United’s treble-winning 1999 side in the shade come May.