Manchester City are not about to get sidetracked by quadruple talk, says Ilkay Gundogan.
City take on Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, buoyed by an unbeaten run of 25 matches across all competitions.
The upshot is a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League, along with progress to the final and quarter-finals respectively of the EFL Cup and FA Cup.
Pep Guardiola's side won an unprecedented domestic treble in England in 2018-19, although their Champions League exit at the hands of Tottenham was the second of three consecutive failures at the quarter-final stage.
Guardiola's mantra through the ongoing run has been one of "game by game" and Gundogan echoed his boss when the Q-word reared its head at a Tuesday news conference.
"Nothing that I’ve thought about until today, until you just mentioned it," he replied about a clean sweep of trophies.
"And nothing that I’ll be thinking of for the next few weeks. If it's going to happen, I'll take it. But it's not really anything to do with me at the moment."
The Germany playmaker is enjoying the most prolific season of his career, with 13 goals overall.
Eleven of those have come since mid-December, making him a key pillar in City's remarkable streak, but Gundogan was cautious when it came to labelling such displays as career-best form.
"That's why I play football, to try and to reach my best, to play as well as possible, to develop, to do the right things," he said.
"It is always satisfying when you play well but I don't think that I was not as satisfied as I am today, just because my numbers this season are really good in terms of goalscoring.
"I wouldn't like to say that I’ve played worse in the past, in terms of form I feel I am on the same level as when we won the league one point ahead of Liverpool, or even when I played in Germany.
"I play another role at the moment, more offensive. I try to be closer to our opponents' box, more into positions where I can create or be dangerous. That leads to more goals.
"Just because I score more goals doesn’t mean I am playing better. Of course, it's satisfying, it's nice to be recognised."
By contrast, Gundogan was quick to heap plenty of the praise for City's turnaround from poor early season form at Guardiola's door.
"We knew that we were not at our best. Full credit goes to our manager - he said the right things at the right time," he added.
"He saw that something was wrong, a bit missing and he adjusted a couple of things, in terms of how we defend, how we play with the ball.
"That’s why he’s the best manager in the world. It led to this outcome. It's incredible, I never though in December about where we would be in February.
"But I knew that we are capable of a lot of things, that we have great quality and can go on a run like we are on now. It doesn't come automatically, we had to adjust things."
Football rumours: Tottenham eye move for Harry Maguire in bid to keep Harry Kane
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, 30, has emerged as a target for Tottenham, according to The Daily Telegraph. The London club are hoping the signing could help persuade his England colleague Harry Kane to stay at the club as big-name clubs line up for his signature.
Maguire is one of eight players United are looking to move on this summer, reports the Daily Mirror. Striker Anthony Martial, 27, Scott McTominay, 26, fellow midfielder Fred, 30, and goalkeeper Dean Henderson, 26, are also on the list, along with defenders Eric Bailly, 29, Alex Telles, 30, and Brandon Williams, 22.
Brighton want more than £70 million for Manchester United target Moises Caicedo, says The Daily Telegraph. Chelsea and Arsenal are also chasing the 21-year-old Ecuador midfielder.
Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, 32, is wanted by two clubs in Saudi Arabia, according to The Guardian. Al-Ittihad and Al-Nassr are keen on the France star with annual salary offers which could reach £86.2 million.
Social media round-upPlayers to watchLevi Colwill: The Daily Mail reports Brighton are considering an increased bid of around £40 million for the Chelsea defender, who spent last season on loan at The Seagulls.
Gabri Veiga: Chelsea have joined Liverpool and Barcelona in tracking the Celta Vigo midfielder, 21, who has a £34.4 million release clause, says The Guardian.
On this day in 2016 – Chelsea and Jose Mourinho settle Eva Carneiro claim
Chelsea and Jose Mourinho reached a settlement with former team doctor Eva Carneiro over her claims that she was constructively dismissed by the club, and victimised by its former manager, on this day in 2016.
Carneiro had brought the claim at an employment tribunal, accusing Mourinho of victimisation and discrimination. She was due to begin giving evidence but after last-minute talks between the parties, a settlement was agreed.
Mourinho made a surprise appearance at the hearing at the London South Employment Tribunal centre in Croydon.
Addressing the tribunal, Daniel Stilitz QC, for Chelsea and Mourinho, said: “We are pleased to be able to tell the tribunal that the parties agreed a settlement on confidential terms.”
The case was expected to last seven to 10 days and could have led to potentially embarrassing witness statements and documents – including texts and emails – being made public.
It was revealed that Carneiro had refused £1.2 million to settle her claims with Mourinho and Chelsea. Details of the final deal between the parties were not released.
Carneiro had alleged she was sexually discriminated against after she went on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard during the opening day of the Premier League season on August 8, 2015.
She claimed that, as she ran on to the pitch during the game with Swansea, Mourinho shouted “filha da puta” at her.
In a statement to the tribunal, Mourinho conceded that he used the term “filho da puta”, meaning “son of a whore”, but insisted he had been using it throughout the match.
Carneiro was removed from first-team duties at Chelsea shortly after the Swansea game and then parted company with the club the following month.
Chelsea said in a statement: “The club regrets the circumstances which led to Dr Carneiro leaving the club and apologises unreservedly to her and her family for the distress caused.
“We wish to place on record that in running onto the pitch Dr Carneiro was following both the rules of the game and fulfilling her responsibility to the players as a doctor, putting their safety first.
“Dr Carneiro has always put the interests of the club’s players first. Dr Carneiro is a highly competent and professional sports doctor. She was a valued member of the club’s medical team and we wish her every success in her future career.”
David Moyes will not compare himself to Ron Greenwood and John Lyall
David Moyes may stand just one match from writing his name into West Ham folklore, but he will not compare himself to the club’s two managerial greats.
If the Hammers overcome Fiorentina in the final of the Europa Conference League on Wednesday night, Moyes will become only the third manager, after Ron Greenwood and John Lyall, to guide the east London club to a major trophy.
Greenwood, who went on to manage England, was in charge when West Ham won their only previous European trophy, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1964, while their last piece of silverware, the FA Cup, came under Lyall in 1980.
Yet Moyes insisted: “I don’t think of myself as any different to anyone else in this room.
“I’m really fortunate and privileged and thankful to be given an opportunity to be a football manager and to have the opportunity to go this far in my career and be on a stage like this.
“I think it’s really special. I don’t ever really think of myself as being a legend or any words like that.
“I’d just like to be known as a football manager and one who’s serious about his job and tries to do the best he possibly can, week-in week-out, try to prepare my teams to be competitive.
“I’d like to be known as much for that as much as I would the word ‘legend’, really.”
The final will hold special memories for West Ham’s Czech duo Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek, who both played for Slavia Prague at the Eden Arena.
Midfielder Soucek said: “When I realised one year ago that the final was in Prague and we were in this competition, I was like, ‘come on guys, we have to go there’.
“And now we are here in the Eden Arena in Prague, I can connect with the two teams I love.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
