MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City They are the best team in Europe, which makes them the best in the world, and whatever happens in the Champions League against Inter Milan on June 10 will not change that. Just ask real Madridthe reigning European champions, who were ripped apart 4-0 in the second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
But nobody wants to be remembered as the best team ever to never win the European Cup, so Inter have to prepare for the toughest game of their lives against City in Istanbul next month. Man City under the leadership of manager Pep Guardiola are on the brink of immortality in the game.
The City would have complained about 115 violations Premier League rules between 2009 and 2018, history can see the success of this team through other lenses, but right now their football is the only way they can be measured. And after dethroning Real with a brutal and effective performance in Manchester after a 1-1 draw in Madrid last week, Manchester City have established themselves as the new kings of Europe.
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It was a method, a parallel real MadridThe biggest defeat in the Champions League, which came at Anfield Liverpool in 2008-09. Every City player dominated their Real opponent and if they wanted to avenge last season’s impressive semi-final victory over manager Carlo Ancelotti’s side, they got it.
It was like watching a heavyweight champion of the world take on an underdog. But Real Madrid are not hopeful – they are Real Madrid. This was the night Kevin De Bruyne, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, Rodri, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silvathe two-goal hero in the first half, produced 10 of 10 shots to leave the world’s top opposition reeling.
No team can beat City right now. They have won 19 of their last 23 games and are unbeaten in any of them. Three wins in three matches is all they need to secure the so-called treble.
Inter Milan could bring one of the biggest challenges of their time when they beat Man City at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul next month, but nobody can argue that they could make manager Simone Inzaghi’s side better than Guardiola’s. The Nerazzurri they would only have the small detail of a large silver trophy as a prize for winning one game.
It may be easy, but Guardiola has already done what he was given the job Manchester City‘s Abu Dhabi explained the owner when he was appointed manager in 2016. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich a coach was hired to make City the best team in Europe and the world. They may tick the box as a job well done, but no one at the Etihad will believe or hear it until the European Cup is in the game cupboard.
City lost Chelsea in their last Champions League appearance in Porto in 2021, but this time it seems to be going well with Guardiola’s team.
“The final against an Italian team is not the best gift, to be honest,” Guardiola said. “They [Inter] and competitors. This success will get a lot of praise, but we have time to prepare mentally. When you reach the Champions League final you have to celebrate. Unfortunately, we don’t have time because on Sunday we can win Premier League. Tomorrow we will be with our families and then we will prepare for Sunday.”
Forget the treble talk for now. There is plenty of time to derail City’s hopes of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League between now and the end of next month.
The Premier League is just around the corner, with Guardiola’s men needing just three points from three games to win the title for the third consecutive season, Manchester United — the only English club to achieve the treble in 1999 — stood between Man City and glory in the FA Cup final on June 3. If Manchester City arriving in Istanbul a week after needing to beat three European champions Inter to win their first Champions League, there will be doubts about their success.
So how good are Man City? Well, they won the fifth Premier League title in six years within the next 10 days and are favorites to beat Man United in the FA Cup Final at Wembley. The Champions League is gone, but what they did against Real was perhaps the most one-sided display by a team at this level since Guardiola’s tenure. Barcelona they destroyed United in the 2011 Champions League final.
That 2011 final, by the way, was when Guardiola’s legendary Barca team was at its peak, and Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta are putting United on what manager Sir Alex Ferguson called “the passing carousel.” Barca were so good that United couldn’t get the ball – and real Madrid On Wednesday they faced the same situation, with Man City dominating their possessions and enjoying 60% of it.
While Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior tried to run Kyle Walker in the first half, it seems that there is no competition with Brazil countries that tend to win the foot race. But Walker somehow turned the tide and struck Vinicius and its power. The Real Star looked lost, turning to Ancelotti as if to say, “What can I do?”
This was the title that went through the Real Madrid team. Both had nothing to do with Man City’s attacking tides and with endless wealth, as defenders Dani Carvajal he said: “We played an opponent who was better than us in the game – they let us down.”
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois he was perhaps the only Real player to leave the pitch when he stood up for City, while Chelsea’s No. Erling Haalandas Real tried to weather the storm.
But this was City’s night, emphatically, and it will be their season. It is just a question of how many trophies they will win.