Jamie Carragher has claimed that Manchester City should not just settle for a single Champions League title, but have to set their sights on dominating European football. Bernardo Silva who has been linked with a move away this summer – scored twice in the first half, before an Eder Militao own goal and Julian Alvarez strike sealed the win for City.
Pep Guardiola’s side booked their ticket to just a second Champions League final on Wednesday night with an emphatic 4-0 win over holders and record winners Real Madrid, to go through 5-1 victors on aggregate.
The club’s quest for a first European crown has been well-documented, though they now have a chance to end that wait when they take on Inter Milan – who won the other semi-final on Tuesday in Istanbul on Jun 10.
‘There’s only one English team that’s dominated Europe and that’s Liverpool in the late 70s and early 80s,’ the former Reds and England defender said on CBS Sports Golazo.
‘Man City are about to win a third league title on the trot, but nobody’s ever done four, so they’re up there with the absolute best.
However, Carragher insisted Manchester City should be looking beyond this summer given the calibre of their playing and coaching staff, and ought to replicate the feats of Liverpool from 1976-84 by winning multiple titles.
‘Manchester United won three in a row a couple of times, but they never dominated Europe – they won a Champions League, and City have still got to win the Champions League, but when you took at how good they could become, they should be looking at getting that first Champions League in a few weeks.
Los Blancos have been the dominant force in Europe in the last decade, winning five of the last nine competitions, but they were blown away by the Premier League leaders on Wednesday night at the Etihad.‘But for the quality they have in terms of the manager, on the pitch and their finances – they can buy who they want virtually – they’ve got to be looking at trying to dominate Europe.’
Guardiola has made tactical tweaks this season after the introduction of Erling Haaland after winning the Premier League without a recognised striker last season. Although Haaland has broken several goal scoring records, there were critics early on in his City stint over his ability to work off the ball, and Thierry Henry attributed his quick transformation into the club’s system to his manager.
‘I think, listen, what Pep Guardiola does is he improves players,’ claimed the Arsenal and France legend. ‘I thought I was kind of OK at football, and I arrived at Barcelona and he de-programmed me to re-programme into a certain understanding of the game.
‘How good can they be? The sky’s the limit.’ aGuardiola’s side have three games left in the Premier League, and need just three points to be crowned winners for the third season on the bounce, before they take on Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3 for a potential treble.
‘Now, if that team wins the treble, with the way how they’re doing it, at the end of the day the points they’ll get at the end of the season is about what they do usually, with Haaland or not, but now with Haaland in it they are a team that can win the treble.
