Subscribe
Follow Us
Manchester City was one of the two teams pitted to win the Champions League the strongest before it started. As PSG fizzled out against Real Madrid, they are now likely considered as the prime favorite to win it all. Of course, there are still great teams left. Liverpool is there, Bayern Munich is a threat, and some are considering Real Madrid a dark horse after the magnificent comeback they pulled off in the second leg versus PSG.
Still, most would still say it is now Manchester City's competition to lose. Here are three reasons to back up the claim that Manchester City will earn the Champions League title.
Manchester City as Champions League winners
It seems to be their time
Now, this might sound like an abstract statement, but it makes a ton of sense. The only title left for Manchester City to win, since the takeover by the Abu Dhabi Investment Group in 2008, is the Champions League. They've won five EPL titles, including three of the last four, and numerous domestic cups.
Yet, the Champions League title keeps slipping out of their hands. In 2016, it was Real Madrid that bested them in the semifinal with a freak Gareth Bale goal. Last year, an almost perfect campaign with only one draw, against Porto in the group stage, was ended by a heartbreaking Kai Havertz goal for Chelsea in the final. This year, they are looking to make a statement.
Granted, Manchester City did already lose two games this year in the Champions League. They lost away from home against RB Leipzig and PSG in the group stage but beat both teams at home. In the Round of 16, they easily disposed of Sporting in the first leg, winning 5-0 away in Portugal. The second leg was meaningless and ended in a 0-0 draw, where the most exciting thing was manager Pep Guardiola's decision to put on Scott Carson in the 77th minute to make him the player with the largest gap between two Champions League appearances. Even though they were underwhelming versus Sporting at home, they still look immensely powerful, and it really does seem to be their time to win it all in Europe.
They boast the strongest midfield in the world
If we go back through the years, apart from a few outliers, it seems like it was always the team with the strongest midfield that has won it all. For instance, the trio of Sergio Busquets, Xavi, and Andres Iniesta won three titles, two of them coming in their prime years. The trident of Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Luka Modric won three in a row, and the previous iteration with Modric, Sami Khedira, and Angel Di Maria won one in 2014. Of course, last season, the Chelsea midfield boasted N'Golo Kante, Jorginho, and Mateo Kovacic, and they dominated absolutely everyone. Well, now it is Manchester City that has, pound for pound, the best midfield on the planet.
It does not take anything away from other teams to say this. Real Madrid still has their veterans who won three in a row, but they are not on the level of Manchester City. Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Kevin De Bruyne have been absolutely sensational and work together like clockwork. Rodri is the safety of the group, making sure that they have all the space to operate in the middle.
The beauty of the midfield, however, is that De Bruyne and Gundogan are interchangeable in their roles. Both of them can be box-to-box, while the other one is more attacking. Of course, neither is ideal in the position of the box-to-box midfielder, but they both handle the role well enough to warrant the exclusion of a true box-to-box midfielder in this setup. In simpler terms, the quality, cohesion, and chemistry of the trio are unmatched across Europe.
Manager and his football philosophy
We all know how amazing Pep Guardiola is. He has been a coach at the top of European football for 14 years now and has won it all. Guardiola won three La Liga titles with Barcelona, three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, and three EPL titles with Manchester City. In Europe, he has two Champions League trophies, he has been to three Champions League finals, and five more semifinals, two with Barcelona and three with Bayern Munich.
When it comes to huge competition experience, while he was not as successful outside of Barcelona, Guardiola is definitely the man. Manchester City finally made their first final under Guardiola, and while it ended with a loss, it was still a major moment for the English club.
However, more than experience, it is Guardiola's football philosophy that is so groundbreaking. As mentioned above, he ditched the idea of set positions in the midfield, granting the freedom of all three, even though Rodri is primarily defensive-oriented, to do everything to help the team. He also started the season without a true striker, except Gabriel Jesus, but made sure to adjust his tactics and transferred the almost positionless setup from the midfield to the attack as well. The front trio acts as both wingers and inside threats, as all players occupy almost all positions in the final third.
Simply put, Manchester City is led by one of the best coaches in the world. While he gets his fair share of criticism for his shortcomings in Europe outside of Barcelona, Guardiola is the only man for the job of bringing European glory to the Etihad.
