Five reasons why Manchester City can win the Champions League

Pep Guardiola

Here’s an incredible stat for you; Catalan coach Guardiola has always reached the semi-finals minimum of Europe’s elite club competition in his managerial career.

A two-time Champions League winner as Barcelona boss, to go with his 1992 European Cup medal as a player, Guardiola was brought to Man City to lift more of this silverware.

While his spell with Bayern Munich was a so-nearly story with a hat-trick of penultimate hurdle defeats, there is no doubting the Champions League pedigree of Pep. It is why City’s wealthy owners installed him in the Etihad hotseat.

No tactical remedy found

Try as they might, no opposition in whatever competition Man City have been playing in can say they managed to stop them yet.

What does Coral football ambassador Alan Shearer think about Man City and the other English clubs in the Champions League? Hear his views below:

Although there is always the possibility that momentum could change, City have already impressed in Premier League and Champions League action. Their first-half display in the Manchester derby, in particular, stands out as breathtaking.

Guardiola has his players mixing it up, playing the possession game but also allowing for a more direct style when there is opportunities to exploit. At Man City, he may just go from the prophet of tiki taka to a new tag of master tactician.

Rejuvenated players

While Guardiola has been ruthless when it comes to the likes of Wilfried Bony, Joe Hart, Samir Nasri and Yaya Toure, his first couple of months as City coach haven’t entirely surrounded wielding the axe.

Serbia wing back Aleksandar Kolarov and England attacker Raheem Sterling (above) have looked back to their best under new management. Both are naturally happiest going forward, and Guardiola has allowed this.

The fruit of such labour is obvious; a magnificent seven out of seven victories that have established Man City as serious contenders for silverware at home and abroad.

Keeping it clean

For all the attacking exploits of Aguero, Sterling, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and others, City are also yet to concede a goal in the Champions League.

Cynics will point to Monchengladach and Steaua Bucharest and stress the level of competition they’ve faced means you can’t read too much into this, but it’s notable to contrast with their Premier League defensive record.

Guardiola has seen Man City concede one goal in each of their four English top-flight fixtures so far, yet the tightening up in Europe is a fact. All of this and more points to City being very credible Champions League contenders indeed.

Related

You’ll find more Champions League features like this one throughout the season on Coral news’ dedicated page.