With his squad finally healthy, the Spanish manager believes the team is in an ideal state with the international break nearly here.
Pep Guardiola was in excellent spirits after Manchester City had little problem finishing off Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Tuesday by doubling their aggregate advantage to 4-0.
City has now lost just once in its previous 32 games in all competitions (the defeat coming at the hands of Manchester United) and remains in contention for all four competitions it entered at the start of the season.
In addition to the quarterfinals of the Champions League, City will compete with Tottenham in the League Cup final in April, will face Everton in the last eight of the FA Cup, and is within touching distance of wrapping up the Premier League title.
🗣”I am older than Mr Zinchenko and have more experience, I do not agree with him”
Pep Guardiola has dismissed that Manchester City could win a famous quadruple this season and said he disagreed with Oleksandr Zinchenko saying he could see hungry eyes in the dressing room pic.twitter.com/MJeIagF7pS
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) March 15, 2021
Manchester City, who have never been crowned European champions, are chasing an unprecedented quadruple in the current campaign.
However, Guardiola has been warning his players against talking up the prospect, and publicly admonished Aleks Zinchenko for daring to dream about it in a press conference on Monday, saying: “I am older than Mr. Zinchenko, I have more experience and I do not agree with him.”
“What is important is don’t look further and just look at the next one. Today we spoke about that. Don’t think about the [Champions League] quarter-finals, think about the process and what you have to do to win the game, and this is the best way. After, we will see what happens.”
The Champions League is the one major prize that has eluded Guardiola since he arrived at the Etihad in 2016.
“Since the first year I arrived they told me that you have to win the Champions League,” said the City boss, who won Europe’s elite club competition twice as FC Barcelona manager.
“It is always on our shoulders but I’m not concerned about that. If you deserve it in football, you go through. If you don’t, you don’t.”
