Rico Lewis says winning the treble once “isn’t good enough” as Manchester City look to repeat the feat and eye an unprecedented quadruple.
Pep Guardiola’s perennial Premier League champions added the FA Cup in June before beating Inter Milan to win the club’s first ever Champions League crown.
City joined Manchester United’s 1999 side as the only English teams in history to complete the treble, but there appears little chance of them stopping there.
Erling Haaland’s brace saw them open up their league campaign with a 3-0 win at promoted Burnley on Friday, after which teenage star Lewis outlined his ambitions.
“The objective is to win the treble again, to win the quadruple,” the homegrown 18-year-old talent said.
“You know, winning it once isn’t good enough, so we have to keep on going and try and win it again.”
You would not back against City winning the European crown on top of claiming the three main domestic trophies given their quality, cohesion and strength.
However, Guardiola’s men have already missed out on one piece of silverware this season having lost the Community Shield to Arsenal on penalties.
This week, though, offers another chance at a trophy as City seek to win the UEFA Super Cup for the first time against Sevilla in Athens.
“Obviously it’s a new competition for us,” Lewis said. “We’ve never won it, the club’s never won it, so, again, it’s another trophy that we want to go and win.
“It’s another competition and an important thing we need to go and take on.”
City make the trip buoyed by a solid start to the Premier League season, with Rodri adding to Haaland’s double on a night that also saw Lewis struck by an object.
Burnley quickly confirmed the individual responsible for the first-half incident had been identified, removed from the ground by police and now faces a banning order.
“Obviously when you’re in the game you can’t really focus on that,” Lewis said. “But it was just something I had to deal with at the time.
“It’s just an incident that’s unfortunate it’s happened to me but, you know, it happens to a lot of players, which is not a good thing.
“But there’s nothing really much you can do about it. You’ve just got to ignore it and then it’ll get sorted at the end of the game.”
Another issue City’s players could not let distract them was the injury to skipper Kevin De Bruyne.
The 32-year-old has only recently returned from a hamstring issue and Guardiola says he faces weeks on the sidelines after suffering a recurrence of the issue.
“Well, you know, injuries happen to everyone,” Lewis said. “Every team suffers with injuries and it’s something that you’ve just got to deal with.
“There’s enough quality in the squad where if someone gets injured someone can slot in and just carry on playing in the same way that the last person did.
“Obviously there’s going to be certain positions where we’ll be more hurt than others just because of squad depth, but it’s something that happens to everyone and everyone has to deal with it.”
While City return to action on Wednesday, the Clarets have an extended wait until they play again.
Next weekend’s trip to Luton was postponed due to ongoing stadium works at Kenilworth Road, meaning Vincent Kompany’s side are next in action at home to Aston Villa on August 27.
That fortnight will give promoted Burnley an invaluable opportunity to work with their new-look squad after showing signs of promise against City.
Summer signing Luca Koleosho, 18, said after making his debut: “I think we had our moments in the game but obviously we were playing against the best team in the world right now.
“So, I just think that every game we’re going to get better and just improve.
“The mentality is just to win, there’s 37 games (to go), it’s a long season but just take it one at a time and just go out there and try and win.”
Liverpool 4-2 Tottenham: Salah shines as Reds swat aside Spurs
Liverpool got back to winning ways with a 4-2 win over Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, though they had to survive a late Spurs push.
Mohamed Salah and Harvey Elliott were the stars, getting a goal and an assist each to help the Reds avoid a third straight home defeat in all competitions.
Andrew Robertson and Cody Gakpo got in on the act as Liverpool cruised into a 4-0 lead, though Richarlison and Son Heung-min scored to make matters interesting, ensuring this fixture became the highest-scoring in Premier League history in the process.
Spurs remain in fifth, seven points below Aston Villa in fourth, while Liverpool are third, five points off leaders Arsenal, though they would need an almighty slip-up from either of the top two to stand a chance of winning the title.
The warning signs were there early from Liverpool, with Guglielmo Vicario smothering Salah’s shot on the line before Cristian Romero cleared Elliott’s follow-up.
Salah grabbed the opener 16 minutes in, latching onto Gakpo’s cross to cushion his 18th goal of the season past Vicario, who got a hand to it.
The Reds’ dominance continued – Luis Diaz tried an acrobatic attempt and Elliott saw a curler saved by Vicario, but Liverpool’s pressure told again before the break.
Vicario got down to Salah’s crisp effort but could only parry it into the path of Robertson, who tucked into an open net on the rebound.
Spurs’ display did not improve after the break, and Gakpo thumped in Elliott’s cross after Emerson Royal was dispossessed.
Elliott capped a fine individual display in the 59th minute, curling a sumptuous shot into the top-left corner, giving Vicario no chance.
Richarlison’s introduction from the bench sparked Spurs into life, as he slotted in his 11th goal of the campaign with 18 minutes remaining.
The Brazil international turned from scorer to provider five minutes later, laying it off for Son to finish.
Salah squandered a great chance to put the contest to bed at the other end, but Alisson denied Richarlison a second – with Joe Gomez preventing Brennan Johnson nodding in the rebound – as Liverpool saw out a morale-boosting win in Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate home game.
Salah back on song
Salah grabbed the headlines last week after a spat with Klopp on the touchline during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw at West Ham.
But, restored to the starting XI, Salah was back on form on Sunday. He hit the crossbar before he opened the scoring, and then got an assist when he teed up Elliott – that makes him the first player in Premier League history to score 10+ goals and provide 10+ assists in three consecutive seasons. He is also only the second player to tally 10+ in both in five separate seasons in the competition overall, after Wayne Rooney.
Salah, who had a goal ruled out for offside late on, has now netted 12 goals against Spurs, only scoring more against Manchester United (14) in all competitions, while he is also the joint-top scorer in Liverpool v Tottenham matches in the Premier League, scoring nine, level with Harry Kane.
Super-sub Richarlison
Spurs, who have lost four league games in a row for the first time since November 2004, were left to rue a dismal showing for the first hour, but would things have been different had Ange Postecoglou used Richarlison from the start?
The former Everton man has been linked with a move away from Spurs this week, but he turned the tide at Anfield, where he has scored three times in the Premier League.
Richarlison’s hold-up play and pass into Son for Spurs’ second was also excellent. That goal from the South Korean was the 191st scored in this fixture in the Premier League, meaning it overtook Arsenal v Liverpool as the fixture with the most goals in the competition’s history.
Maguire's league season over as Man Utd confirm muscle injury
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has suffered a muscle injury that will see him miss the final games of the Premier League season.
United face Crystal Palace on Monday, before rounding off their Premier League campaign with some tough fixtures against title-chasing Arsenal, fellow European hopefuls Newcastle United and then Brighton.
However, Erik ten Hag will have to do without centre-back Maguire, with the England international set to miss around three weeks with a muscular problem, further compounding United's injury issues in defence.
That time frame also casts Maguire's participation in the FA Cup final, which takes place on May 25, into doubt.
United will take on holders and rivals Manchester City in the Wembley showpiece, which is a repeat of last season's final.
England manager Gareth Southgate will be hoping the defender recovers fully in time for Euro 2024.
Pochettino hails Chelsea's growth after thumping West Ham
Mauricio Pochettino is delighted by Chelsea's progress in recent weeks following their dominant 5-0 victory over West Ham at Stamford Bridge.
Nicolas Jackson scored twice, while Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher and Noni Madueke were also on target as the Blues leapfrogged Manchester United into seventh place with three games remaining.
Pochettino's side, who made it back-to-back wins in the space of three days following their 2-0 success over Tottenham on Thursday, are finishing the season strongly, having now lost just one of their last 12 matches.
The Blues came under scrutiny during their 6-0 rout of Everton last month, when Jackson and Madueke were involved in an altercation following a disagreement over who should take a penalty, with the responsibility eventually going to regular taker Palmer.
However, three weeks on, the pair combined to positive effect with Madueke unselfishly squaring the ball for Jackson to tap in the first of his two goals, despite being one-on-one with West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola.
And Pochettino believes that action epitomises the growth his side are demonstrating as the season draws towards a conclusion.
"[We are] so pleased, so happy. The players deserve big credit, to play again after a few days and to play again at this level," he said, as reported by Football London.
"We received criticism for the situation with the penalty against Everton, but a young team needs to make mistakes to improve.
"It was a great action from Noni [squaring the ball for Jackson's first goal] to see how the group is starting to believe. It is always a process that takes time. It can take one month, six months or one year.
"People who know about football know the process of building a team is the most difficult thing. You need to have the capacity to emphasise with every single player.
"They need to trust in us, in the coaching staff. That is the most important thing, and then you need to start to identify what the players need. This process always takes time."
Discussing Chelsea's hopes of qualifying for Europe, Pochettino said: "From the beginning of the season, I said we should win because we are Chelsea.
"We need to be mature, keep the momentum and look to improve every single game. We are trying to be in Europe; it will be good for the team and the players to be in Europe this season."
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