Manchester City’s treble bid coming of age with unbeaten run

By Sports Desk May 10, 2023

Manchester City’s Champions League draw with Real Madrid took their unbeaten run to 21 games.

Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten since early February, with 17 wins and four draws, as they peak in familiar fashion for the end of the season and a potential trophy treble.

Here, the PA news agency looks at their seemingly unstoppable form.

Treble chase

City are chasing glory on three fronts, looking to emulate the feat of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season achieved by local rivals Manchester United in 1998-99.

Thirty-seven points from the last 39 available have helped them haul in long-time league leaders Arsenal, leading by a point and with four games remaining to the Gunners’ three.

They have beaten their title rivals twice in that time, 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and 4-1 back home a fortnight ago.

Improbably, relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest are the only side to take a point off them in that time after Chris Wood’s late equaliser.

Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Southampton, Leicester, Fulham, West Ham and Leeds are their other victims, with 36 goals scored in those 13 games and 10 conceded.

Their other draws have come in the away legs of their three Champions League ties, all 1-1 against RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real.

The home legs against the two Bundesliga sides saw Leipzig beaten 7-0 and Bayern 3-0, while in the FA Cup they beat former City captain Vincent Kompany’s Burnley 6-0 and two other Championship sides, Bristol City and Sheffield United, 3-0 to set up a Manchester derby in the final.

Such form in the run-in is nothing new to City, who won last season’s league title by a point after finishing with a 12-game unbeaten run including nine wins and also won their last 14 in succession to pip Liverpool to the 2018-19 title – as part of a domestic treble.

Hot-shot Haaland leads the way

Erling Haaland is unsurprisingly City’s top scorer in the current run with 20 of City’s 61 goals.

That includes back-to-back hat-tricks against Leipzig – with an astonishing five goals – and Burnley, helping him past a half century for the season while he has a record 35 for a Premier League campaign.

Kevin De Bruyne’s stunner against Real was his seventh goal of the run while Haaland’s sometime deputy Julian Alvarez has six.

There have been five apiece for Riyad Mahrez, who scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup semi-final against the Blades, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan. Twelve City players in all have scored, in addition to an own goal from Bournemouth’s Chris Mepham.

“We feel unstoppable”

Winger Jack Grealish spoke after the draw at the Bernabeu of his confidence of reaching the Champions League final, based on City’s formidable home record.

“Within ourselves at the Etihad, we feel unstoppable there,” the England international told BT Sport after playing his part in a feisty first-leg encounter.

His view is borne out by the statistics, City winning all 11 home games in their current run with 40 goals scored and just five conceded.

That sequence at the Etihad extends to 15 straight wins since their New Year’s Eve draw with Everton and 17 unbeaten since losing to Brentford in November.

Away from home, since the Tottenham defeat, City have won six games and drawn four, scoring 21 goals and conceding eight.

Related items

  • Luis Enrique: PSG 'far from the level' to turn Champions League fortunes around Luis Enrique: PSG 'far from the level' to turn Champions League fortunes around

    Luis Enrique believes that despite Paris Saint-Germain's unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season, it is not enough to turn their fortunes around in the Champions League. 

    PSG cruised to a 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday, maintaining their six point advantage over Monaco at the top of the standings. 

    The Parisiens have 32 points from their 12 league matches. Over the last 70 years, only under Thomas Tuchel have they had more at this stage (36 in 2018-19).

    PSG have also scored a division-high 36 goals, netting three or more times in nine of their 12 matches this season, as many as in their last 24 last term.

    However, that form has failed to transpire in the Champions League. Luis Enrique's side sit 25th in the new 36-team league after taking four points from their four games. 

    And with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich up next, the PSG boss said his side's good run in the league will not be enough to win the competition. 

    "I think that we have numbers in Ligue 1 that are in line with our quality and in the Champions League we are far from our level. It's not logical," Luis Enrique said. 

    "It is clear that we have to improve our effectiveness, there is no doubt about it. 

    "A competition like the Champions League is different, is short, fewer games, it does not reward regularity, it rewards being good at the right moments.

    "However, I think it's important to go into a Champions League match having won. It's not that it's decisive, but it's more positive," the coach added.

    Friday's victory was sealed with goals from Joao Neves, Beraldo and Vitinha, sealing a sixth consecutive Ligue 1 triumph at the Parc des Princes. 

    Neves has now been involved in eight league goals this season (two goals, six assists), having only recorded five goal contributions in 50 appearances for Benfica. 

    The Portugal international also won more duels (nine) than any other PSG player against Toulouse, with Luis Enrique showering praise on the 20-year-old. 

    "Joao played the first half as a pivot, which is his usual position. In the second half we made more use of his ability to bring the ball out from the back in a more delayed position. I think he was very good," Luis Enrique said. 

    "Clearly when a midfielder scores the goal and it's something we insist on, well it seems to bring out his game more. I'm more satisfied. In the second half I liked him."

  • Captain fantastic Dyllan John delivers as 10-man JC secure gritty Champions Cup quarterfinal win over McGrath Captain fantastic Dyllan John delivers as 10-man JC secure gritty Champions Cup quarterfinal win over McGrath

    Jamaica College (JC) displayed resilience and determination to book their spot in the ISSA Champions Cup semifinals, as they overcame early adversity to secure a 2-0 victory over McGrath High in a lukewarm quarterfinal encounter at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Friday.

    Captain Dyllan John again proved heroic, scoring both goals for his team in the 60th and 90+2 to keep their triple crown ambitions alive, as they also have the Manning Cup semi-final to contest on Wednesday.

    Head coach Davion Ferguson praised his players fighting spirit in achieving their semi-final objective.

    “I think the referee made a very questionable call, but the boys didn’t drop their heads. At halftime we told them that this is what we have been working on, and they dug deep, pressed McGrath a little higher, and I think that’s what paid off for us at the end. So even though it was 11 versus 10, we were still even in the sense of our quality superiority, and we made it count in the second half,” Ferguson said in a post-game interview.

    His counterpart Jermaine Thomas also lauded his McGrath outfit despite their inability to capitalize on the numerical advantage.

    “I thought we played well; we just never scored. I thought we created several goal-scoring opportunities...easy ones, and we stopped them from playing through the channels and breaking the lines easy. So they were playing long balls for the entire game; it is just that we never scored the chances that we got,” Thomas said.

    The match began under dramatic circumstances as Jamaica College suffered a major setback in the 16th minute. Goalkeeper Taywane Lynch was shown a red card for what referee Christopher Mason deemed a handball, although replays and protests from Jamaica College suggested the ball had come off his chest while he was still inside his 18-yard box.

    Despite the controversy, Jamaica College were forced to play the remainder of the match with 10 men and relied on substitute goalkeeper Adriano Kitson to step into the breach.

    The numerical disadvantage did not deter the Old Hope Road boys, who reorganized defensively to keep McGrath at bay.

    Both teams created half-chances in the first half, but poor finishing, particularly from McGrath, and solid defending in parts by Jamaica College ensured the game remained goalless at the break.

    McGrath, sensing an opportunity to upset the favorites, started the second half brightly and should have broken the deadlock in the 53rd minute. However, Mason failed to pull the trigger from a promising position, and the chance went abegging.

    Four minutes later, Nashordo Gibbs tested Orlando Griffiths with a sharp effort at the near post, but the McGrath custodian was up to the task.

    John then took matters into his own hands and fired the “Dark Blues” in front at the hour mark. The talented player sporting the number seven jersey picked up possession in the attacking third, shook two defenders, and unleashed a precise right-footed strike into the far corner.

    Buoyed by the goal, Jamaica College grew in confidence, even with a man down, but McGrath continued to press, and Jimm Mitchell had his 78th-minute effort deflected by Kitson.

    While McGrath threw everything forward in search of an equalizer, it left them vulnerable at the back, and Jamaica College capitalized as a well-timed through ball from Dontae Logan sent John racing clear, and the captain showed his class once more, slotting a composed finish past Griffiths to seal the victory.

  • Reid’s double sends Ocho Rios High into ISSA Champions Cup semifinals Reid’s double sends Ocho Rios High into ISSA Champions Cup semifinals

    Keanu Reid’s clinical brace fired Ocho Rios High into the ISSA Champions Cup semifinals as they secured a 2-0 victory over debutants St Catherine High in a keenly contested quarterfinal clash at the Montego Bay Sports Complex on Friday.

    Reid’s strikes (42nd and 56th) were the highlights of the win achieved through a disciplined defensive display and lethal counterattacks that ensured Ocho Rios’s first-ever semifinal appearance in the all-island knockout competition, as they left St Catherine High frustrated despite their dominance in possession.

    While pleased with his team’s win, Ocho Rios Head coach Veron Peterkin felt the overall performance could have been better, as he acknowledged that they were aided by St Catherine’s profligacy.

    “To be fair, St Catherine missed a couple of chances behind our backline, but we were fortunate that we took ours, and we missed some as well, but we have to give credit to them. Reid is a very good player; he should have scored a bit more, but at least he scored two that gave us the win. So we just have to keep him happy and healthy as we move forward,” Peterkin said in a post-game interview.

    St Catherine entered the game as slight favourites and started with intent, dominating the early exchanges. Dwight Gentles nearly gave them the lead in the opening minutes, forcing Ocho Rios goalkeeper Maleek Martin into a reflex save.

    Moments later, Ronaldo Stewart’s driving run sliced through the Ocho Rios defence, but his final effort rolled agonisingly wide of the upright.

    Despite numerous forays into the attacking third, St Catherine’s final product lacked precision, with Tevin Grey and Kadean Young both seeing goal-bound efforts thwarted by a resolute Ocho Rios defence and the ever-alert Martin.

    While St Catherine struggled to capitalize on their opportunities, Ocho Rios executed their game plan to perfection. Sitting deep and absorbing pressure, they waited patiently for their chance to counter.

    Their breakthrough eventually came in the 42nd minute, when Kaneil Brown slipped a perfectly weighted pass through to Reid, who dismissed the advancing Omarion Brown in goal for St Catherine and slotted in his 23rd goal of the season to give Ocho Rios a 1-0 lead at the break.

    St Catherine came out determined in the second half and pushed hard for an equaliser which they should have had nine minutes in. This, as Lavaughn Taylor delivered a dangerous cross to Gentles, whose effort sailed over the bar.

    Minutes later, Grey’s deft ball into the area found Gentles again, whose header was calmly held by Martin.

    Young came closest to leveling the score when his curling effort beat Martin but ricocheted off the upright, summing up St Catherine’s frustrations.

    Just as St Catherine began to pile on the pressure, Ocho Rios struck again. Reid broke free on another counterattack and outpaced a scrambling defence before slotting past a stranded Brown, who had ventured well outside his penalty area.

    The goal all but sealed St Catherine’s fate, and while they continued to press forward, their attempts became increasingly desperate. Young rattled the crossbar in added time in what was another cruel reminder of their missed chances throughout the match.

    Ocho Rios nearly added to their tally as Brown unleashed a stinging shot from just inside the 18-yard box that was equally well-saved by Omarion Brown, who took flight to his left.

    Rajaun Garrick went on another counter for Ocho Rios, but again Brown advanced well to deny them in time added.

    For St Catherine’s assistant coach, Donovan Lofters, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow, as he rued his team’s wastefulness in front of goal.

    “We should have led by three or four goals by halftime, but we kept missing easy chances. So if you don’t eat your dinner, someone will eat it for you, and kudos to Ocho Rios; they did eat it. We didn’t deliver today,” Lofters said.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.