'Man City can win another treble this season' insists EPL legend Jamie Carragher
by Sai Teja- EPL club City are well-placed to win the UEFA Champions League according to Jamie Carragher.
- The Englishman also believes that Pep Guardiola can still win a treble this season.
EPL legend Jamie Carragher believes that Manchester City can have a successful season after the restart despite losing out on the league title. The Englishman earmarked the defending EPL champions as his favourites to win the UEFA Champions League. The former EPL defender expressed via his Telegraph column that he feels City are well-placed to win the elusive trophy this season.
Carragher is of the firm belief that the defending EPL champions can go on to win a treble excluding that of a Premier League triumph.
"City can win another treble this season, including the prize they arguably crave most of all: the Champions League."
EPL giants City the strongest remaining team in the CL
Manchester City were drawn against Real Madrid in the Round-of-16 stage of the tournament. In the first leg of the tie, Pep Guardiola guided the EPL club to a dominant victory at the Santiago Bernabéu with a 2-1 win.
Star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne took centre stage after setting up Gabriel Jesus' equaliser and scored a penalty late in the game. This was enough to seal the win and to make matters worse for Madrid, their skipper Sergio Ramos was sent off in the dying minutes of the fixture.
Carragher wrote in his column,
"Before the suspension of games, the tournament was evolving in such a way to present City with their best chance of being European champions since Guardiola took charge at The Etihad. By outclassing Real Madrid in the The Bernabeu, they had just made the club’s biggest statement on the continent since winning the 1970 Uefa Cup."
The EPL legend analysed the teams remaining in the tournament and said that City are in a good position, given that his favourites — Liverpool — have been knocked out. Guardiola saw his side knocked out by Tottenham Hotspur in the previous edition, and by Liverpool in the year before. Carragher continued,
"The major obstacle to success in the competition, Liverpool, are out. I do not see any side in the tournament better than City, or any who will match the intensity of the Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool sides which denied Guardiola in the past two year."
The three clubs he did pick out as potential threats are Spanish champions Barcelona, French champions Paris Saint-Germain and German champions Bayern Munich. However, he went on to note that Barcelona are 'not what they were' due to their embarrassing exits in recent times. PSG would be at a disadvantage according to the former EPL defender due to their league having been cancelled.
That leaves just one other club in Carragher's opinion, on whom he wrote,
"That leaves Guardiola’s former club as the most dangerous potential opponents, helped by their earlier return to Bundesliga action. I still believe City are stronger. That is why, wherever and whenever the competition concludes, City are my favourites. I doubt there will be a club that wants it more than them."
Another aspect that Carragher touched upon the impending CAS ruling that could decide their fate in the UCL. The EPL club were hit with a lucrative two-year-ban from the prestigious tournament after being found guilty of breaking Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. The breaching of these regulations could cost them dear as it could also mean the departures of key players in search of UCL glory.
On the possible impact of the CAS ruling, Carragher commented,
"Just as the shock of Uefa's initial statement must have had a demoralising impact at City, should CAS rule in their favour it will galvanise them."
Manchester City are back in training and await their first competitive fixture upon the league restart on June 17th.
Published 29 May 2020, 16:30 IST