Since Manchester City
has been a participant in the always contested and prestigious Champions
League, seeing their growth from minnows to praiseworthy through all
these years of competition.
Especially when you
sport a multi-million-dollar payroll and your squad being a dominant one
in league play and in the big stage, they are victims of its fright or mediocre performances.
Lately the Sky Blues
have become a bit better from participation's in groups stages and later to the round
of sixteen and last year reaching the semifinals for the first time under Manuel
Pellegrini.
Still with the
arrival of Pep Guardiola at the helm of the Sky Blues, his presence suddenly is making the Etihad based squad into a total contender in this
competition.
As in the past to
face squads of the likes of Barcelona it was a match for many of its followers
as a lost one, but not under Pep, as their first ever face off in this edition
they became the center of many critics after that loss at Camp Nou.
For Pep Guardiola
after losing to his former squad and seeing how Messi netted a triple and
Neymar finishing the humiliation at their home, and then drawing with a modest
Celtic FC.
We can say that the
heat was on for him, as his reputation and his record shows off marvels in these types of competitions.
So far, the
Manchester Boys situated in second place in Group C, with seven points, two shy
of first place Barcelona showing off nine points atop their group of play.
Amazing the way the English
Boys played and put on a show against the always favorite and hard to beat
Barza, still the odds of winning as an away group is another challenge for the
first year Spaniard at the helm of the Etihad based squad.
What a night and a
raucous win for the books of the City chaps neutralizing them, after Leo Messi scored
the first one and the locals response became an scandalous one with three goals
for the win.
In league play,
Manchester City is atop the league table even though they are tied with Arsenal
and Liverpool in points, but the goal differential and averages put Pep’s squad
in the driver’s seat, also now contending in Champions.
With a couple of
matches left one away at Borussia and the last one in their Group of play at
home against Celtic FC, the Citizens can wrap it up with a couple of wins and
despite both squads, not being a walk in the park, still odds are in their
favor.
That 3-1 with Kevin
De Bruyne and a double from Ikay Gundohan were the icing of the cake for pep
Guardiola to motivate his squad into its next Champions League upcoming compromises
to seal the deal and advance into the coveted group of 16.
Will this time be the
merry one for the Manchester City Boys, one by surpassing their last year semifinal
play and be looking forward to play their first ever Champions final, with
their new man at the helm anything can happen.
As experience and
that touch that Pep gives his squads he has managed in the past in Barcelona
and Bayern Munich, his winning touch and seal is evident with the performances
his squads have offered.
And with Manchester
City offering a nice display of a clean football filled with lots of techniques
and its players doing it without any inhibitions, we may have a new Champions contender
in Man City.
We might have a new
giant not only in Premiership but in Europe too if this time the Citizens can advance
into the grand fete of the finals and deliver the only trophy missing from their
shelves, that makes them the almighty of the old continent.
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