After losing the Community Shield against the LiverpoolManchester City started the Premier League season on the right foot thanks to Erling Haaland. The Norwegian scored a brace, the first penalty goal, in his second match for the Citizens, current league champions in England.
Manchester City have been crowned in 4 of the last 5 seasons of Premier League. The first was in the 2017-18 season, the first of Pep Guardiola at the head of the team, with which he has managed to completely dominate English football; not so at the continental level.
Since he arrived with the Citizens, the Catalan has been denied the Champions League, in which he has stayed three times in the quarterfinals, once in the second round and once in the semifinal. In addition, he reached the final in the 2020-21 campaign, but lost it against Chelseawhich was won with the solitary goal of Kai Havertz.
“I would like to win it, like everyone else, but it’s not an obsession. It’s a dream or a goal to achieve, but I know how good our rivals are, and how difficult that competition is”, were Guardiola’s words after the match. victory against West Ham this Sunday.
The Spanish strategist insisted that when he signed a contract with Manchester City he was not required to win the Champions League, although of course it is a goal they have. “Perhaps people don’t believe me and think it’s an excuse. Many say I came to win the Champions League. But I didn’t come to win the Champions League, they didn’t ask me to.”
“When we won two in Barcelona, I wanted to win four. When I won it, I didn’t feel like the ‘master’ of the universe. If I train for 30 or 40 years, I would like to win a Champions League per season and I don’t consider it a failure when we don’t win it”, but he pointed out that they are going to try again this season.
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The Champions League is currently in the third qualifying round and it will be until September 6 that the group stage begins, which will be drawn on August 25. As champion of England, the Manchester City will be seeded and will be in Pot 1 with the other European champions.
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