Pep Guardiola may want the world to believe that “four titles is a utopia”, but by no objective standard can the idea of Manchester City winning all four titles this season be considered utopian.
With eight games remaining, City lead the Premier League by 14 points and it is a matter of when, not if, they complete their third title in four seasons. City are in the final of the League Cup and are favourites to beat Tottenham Hotspur in the final on April 25, even though Spurs are one of only three teams to beat them this season.
They are expected to beat Everton in the FA Cup quarter final on Saturday and while they will be wary of Manchester United, the only team to beat them in any competition since the loss to the Spurs in November, Guardiola’s team are still the favourites.
That leaves the Champions League, where the bookmakers also see City as the most likely winners, but where Guardiola’s caution is most justified as City have fallen in the quarter finals for the last three seasons. On Tuesday, City marched into the quarter finals after a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach to complete a 4-0 aggregate victory.
First-half goals from Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan secured a comfortable victory, played in Budapest due to Covid-19 travel restrictions.
City under Guardiola have always dominated possession and been relentless in their passing but they now do so with additional speed and a devastating cutting edge.
But, as their manager never tires of pointing out, in the Champions League, the margins of error are tighter than in domestic competition and they will need to maintain their current level of form if they are to turn the ‘utopia’ into reality.
Real stroll
Real Madrid easily overcame Atalanta 3-1 at home to stroll into the quarter finals 4-1 on aggregate.
Karim Benzema scored after 34 minutes while captain Sergio Ramos converted a penalty on the hour mark. The Italian side managed to get one goal back thanks to a freekick from Luis Muriel in the 83rd and then substitute Marco Asensio made it 3-1.
