Gerard Pique is adamant Barcelona achieved all their success during his time at the club without resorting to underhand dealings and favour from referees.
A corruption complaint has been filed by Spanish prosecutors against Barcelona concerning alleged payments made to the company of Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira – a former vice-president of Spain's Technical Committee of Referees (CTA).
It has been claimed the total payments exceeded €7million, dating from 2001 to 2018. Newspaper El Pais last month reported Enriquez Negreira's company – DASNIL 95 SL – produced written reports and DVD assessments of referees for Barcelona prior to games.
Real Madrid have said they are ready to appear at any trial that stems from the investigation, having expressed concern at board level about the allegations levelled against their fierce rivals.
Yet Pique, the long-serving defender who retired last November, rejects any suggestion of there being wrongdoing behind Barcelona's on-field success.
He told Spanish broadcaster RAC1: "I would put my hand in the fire that Barca have not bought referees. If you want to buy a referee it's as easy as going and paying him directly with black money, not paying a vice-president of the committee with an invoice."
Pique said he was never aware of the payments to the former top-tier referee's company during his 14-year first-team stint.
"The players don't know that. I don't know if this gentleman's job was to help in this, but as players we were out of it," Pique said.
Barcelona had a stellar run of success in domestic and European competition from 2004-05 through to 2018-19, since when the trophy success has largely dried up, although they are LaLiga leaders this season.
Pique added: "No matter how much they want to smear, that was a golden era."
He said Barcelona, who had the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Pique himself as key playing figures for much of their dominant period, were clearly much stronger than their rivals.
"It's not just the titles won, but how they were won," Pique said. "You can review everything: we were far superior. We didn't depend on the referee, for better or for worse."
Barcelona's current president Joan Laporta said on Sunday the club are "innocent of the accusations" being levelled.
France captain Wendie Renard is willing to return to international football after participating in a player revolt which led to the sacking of head coach Corinne Diacre.
Last month, Lyon defender Renard announced she would not play at this year's World Cup under Diacre's leadership, a stance which was replicated by forwards Kadidiatou Diani and Marie-Antoinette Katoto.
Diacre subsequently accused her detractors of participating in "a destabilisation operation", but the French Football Federation (FFF) removed her from her post following a meeting of its executive committee.
The FFF said a "fracture" between Diacre and senior players had "reached a point of no return which harms the interests of the national team".
In the aftermath of that decision, Renard – who has won 142 international caps and played at three World Cups – is open to a return, if any future head coach wishes to recall her.
"It's the coach who will select me if I perform well with my club... but why not?" she told radio station Europe 1.
"I am a competitor at heart. I love this jersey and I want to do everything to win a title with it."
Despite taking the decision to sack Diacre, the FFF criticised the manner of the players' boycott, affirming that acting in such a way "to express their criticisms was no longer acceptable in future".
A man who sent racist abuse to Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been banned from every stadium in the United Kingdom for three years.
Toney revealed in October he had received the abusive message on Instagram, posting screenshots and saying it made him feel "angry", as Brentford called for police to act.
It has led to 24-year-old Antonio Neill, from Blyth in Northumberland, being handed a four-month sentence suspended for two years, plus the football banning order.
Northumbria Police said the latter sanction, handed down on Monday, was the first such order of its kind issued under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022.
Neill pleaded guilty in January to sending an offensive message after officers pursued him over what they considered a hate crime, and he has now been banned from attending any regulated football game in the UK, and from travelling abroad to watch games.
Chief Constable Mark Roberts, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for football policing, said: "This result makes it clear that there are real consequences for those people who think they can hide behind a keyboard to post hateful comments."
He added: "I would urge others who are victims of online hate to come forward and report it to police so it can be investigated and action can be taken."
Toney sits third on this season's list of Premier League top scorers, with 15 goals in a prolific campaign for the Bees.
Brentford said they were "pleased" to see the case conclude, adding: "Court appearances set a strong precedent for anyone else who commits hate crimes and it is our hope that sentences increase in severity until this sort of crime is eradicated.
"Ivan Toney has been subject to sickening racist abuse on a regular basis, and we want to see tough action taken against anyone found guilty of such abuse."
The club appealed at the time of Toney being sent the message for social media bosses to take action, repeating that message on Tuesday by stating: "All authorities have their role to play in this and we, again, call upon the social media companies to make their platforms safe for all participants and to remove all hateful content."
Eden Hazard has decided to stay with Real Madrid next season as the club's forgotten superstar clings to the faint hope of reviving his Santiago Bernabeu career.
The Belgian winger was Chelsea's player of the year in 2018-19, his final season at Stamford Bridge, hitting 16 goals in 37 Premier League games and helping the Blues win the Europa League.
Since leaving London as a 28-year-old at the peak of his powers, however, Hazard has suffered a wretched run of injuries that have blighted his Madrid career.
He has been fit for most of this season, but Ancelotti seemingly regards him as peripheral to his plans, and there is no obvious prospect of his status changing.
Hazard has played only 98 minutes in LaLiga this term and just 297 minutes across all competitions, and he has one season left on his contract before the club can discard the €100million man.
All the same, Hazard hopes that one year can be transformative, and he told Belgian broadcaster RTBF: "I would like to stay here. I have always dreamed of this club. I'm only waiting for one thing. That is to be on the pitch to prove that I can still play football, even if people doubt it, which is normal.
"There is only one thing that could get me out of the spiral in which I am, and that it is to play. After months without a game, I know I wouldn't score five goals in my first game. I need time. But at Real, we don't have the time.
"I see in training that I can bring something. I feel good physically. But there are other players who are doing well."
Hazard is destined to be watching on as Madrid tackle Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday before facing Barcelona in LaLiga on Sunday.
Addressing his relationship with Ancelotti, Hazard said: "There is respect between us. But I'm not going to say that we talk to each other, because we don't talk to each other.
"But there will always be respect. I have to have respect for a guy like Carlo Ancelotti. What he represents for football, what he has done in his career. There is no problem."
Hazard was such a special player in his prime, that to be reduced to effectively begging for a chance to reignite his career at the age of 32 is a desperate fall from grace.
He continues to be paid well by Madrid, but his professional pride has been jolted.
"I'm not asking to play 90 minutes but just to feel useful," he said. "Last season, my situation was difficult to live with. It affects me less now."
He claims some Madrid team-mates have urged him to move on and find a team where he would play.
"But that's not my option," he said. "I remain convinced that I can bring something."
It is a rare occasion that a team can win a game by three goals and still feel like they have been given the runaround by an opponent.
That is what happened last season at the Etihad Stadium, though, as Manchester City ran out 6-3 victors against RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stage, conceding a hat-trick to a player who was undergoing one of the most explosive rises in recent years.
Christopher Nkunku became one of two players to score a hat-trick against City in Europe's premier club competition, the other being Lionel Messi in October 2016.
Presumably to City's relief, Nkunku looks set to miss a return visit in their Champions League last-16 second leg after suffering a minor thigh strain in the recent loss at Borussia Dortmund, and Leipzig would therefore be without one of the most impressive players in Europe.
Nkunku came through the youth set-up at Paris Saint-Germain, spending four seasons there after his first-team debut in the 2015-16 campaign, making 78 appearances in all for his hometown club.
He wanted more responsibility, though, often getting lost among the superstars of the Parc des Princes, such as Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and sealed a move worth a reported €13million to RB Leipzig in July 2019.
Nkunku was not an immediate success in Germany either, but he played 60 league games over his first two seasons at Red Bull Arena, and his development became obvious by the third.
In his final season in Paris in 2018-19, he had six goal involvements (four goals, two assists) in 29 appearances (17 starts). Last season for Leipzig, he recorded 51 goal involvements (35 goals, 16 assists) in 52 appearances (48 starts).
This drastic increase is likely down to extra game-time, responsibility and also the sort of general improvements you would expect of a player in three years at that age.
It also appeared Nkunku was simply getting into better scoring positions, though.
In his last year in Ligue 1, he largely played on the right for PSG, with 48 per cent of his touches across the entire pitch on average coming on the right-side of the opposition's half.
However, just four per cent of his touches came inside the opposition penalty area, which increased to 14 per cent this season in the Bundesliga.
From 2018-19 to 2021-22, Nkunku also increased his output in terms of total shots per 90 (from 1.8 to 2.7), chance conversion (21.1 per cent to 35.1 per cent) and, most drastically, shooting accuracy (42.1 per cent to 70.8 per cent).
That explosion led to some concerns he could have been a one-season wonder, but Nkunku has another 17 goals and three assists in 27 games (22 starts) this season, having missed a chunk of it with a knee injury sustained just before the World Cup, where he had been tipped to shine for eventual runners-up France in Qatar.
He has scored 10 goals across his last 12 starts in the Champions League and has attracted interest from several of Europe's top clubs, with reports suggesting a big-money move to Chelsea is all but done for the end of the season.
Nkunku won the Bundesliga's player of the season award in 2021-22, despite being joint-fourth top scorer in the league alongside Anthony Modeste (20), behind Robert Lewandowski (35), Patrick Schick (24) and Erling Haaland (22).
It was his creativity as well as his goals that won him plaudits, though, with only Thomas Muller (18) claiming more assists in the league than his 13.
Prior to Nkunku's return from injury against Wolfsburg in February, Leipzig head coach Marco Rose said of the 25-year-old: "There are not many players in the world that are as talented as he is.
"Christo does things that you can't expect because he's an impact player and immensely talented... He's got a good feel for when to make a run and can carry the ball into those one-v-one situations. He adds a lot to our game, and his absence has been felt by all of us."
A thigh strain suffered in the 2-1 defeat at Dortmund looks like it will keep Nkunku from taking to the field against City on Tuesday, and that would be a significant blow to Rose's chances of masterminding a win.
Still without first-choice goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi, as well as combative midfielder Xaver Schlager, Rose has some selection headaches to contend with, but he still has plenty of exceptional talent to call on.
Centre-back Josko Gvardiol will again be tasked with stopping Haaland, as he did expertly in the first leg, while he also scored Leipzig's equalising goal.
The Croatian found the net in Saturday's 3-0 win against Borussia Monchengladbach as well, as did Timo Werner, whose importance will be paramount in the absence of Nkunku.
Werner has 13 goals in 27 games since his return from Chelsea, and his pace on the counter-attack against a City team who often push high should be a key factor.
Dani Olmo is another attacking option who has been out with injury, with Rose suggesting the Spain international could at least play a part off the bench against City.
In Nkunku, though, they will be without their main man, assuming he does not make a miraculous recovery.
At his pre-match press conference, City manager Pep Guardiola was asked about the Frenchman's likely absence, saying: "Nkunku is an exceptional player, but they live this season without him and do it really well without him."
Whether they can manage really well without him again will be the difference between the Champions League quarter-finals and elimination.
Real Madrid have reportedly identified Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Borussia Dortmund's Jude Bellingham and Manchester City's Joao Cancelo as their three primary targets in a €300million plan.
The Spanish giants have been pursuing 19-year-old Bellingham for months, while 22-year-old Kvaratskhelia has emerged as one of world football's breakout prospects during his first Serie A season.
Cancelo's future with City is also up in the air after Pep Guardiola allowed him to be loaned to Bayern Munich, with the German club hesitant to make the move permanent.
They could be three of the biggest names to move in the upcoming transfer window, and Madrid are said to want to bring them all to LaLiga instead of resuming the chase for Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe.
TOP STORY – MADRID PLAN AMBITIOUS MOVE FOR WORLD-CLASS TRIO
According to Fichajes.net, Madrid will try to secure all three of their top targets for a combined fee in the range of €300m.
The report states they are comfortable with the asking price of Kvaratskhelia, which is said to be a minimum of €100m, while they expect Liverpool to rival them in a €150m chase for Bellingham.
Cancelo has a €70m (£61.5m) buy clause in his loan deal, which is said to be more palatable to Madrid than Bayern, as they view him as a long-term solution at right-back.
ROUND-UP
– Football Insider is reporting Manchester United remain keen on 26-year-old Inter defender Denzel Dumfries, and that the Italian club's financial situation could tempt them to accept a bid in the region of €50m (£44m).
– According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter and Milan are enamoured with 21-year-old Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun, who is among Ligue 1's top scorers this season during a loan stint with Reims.
– Manchester United are concerned with the prospect of a drawn-out pursuit of Tottenham striker Harry Kane and will instead prioritise Napoli's Victor Osimhen or Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, per ESPN.
– Journalist Ekrem Konur is reporting Atletico Madrid plan to offer Liverpool forward Roberto Firmino a two-year deal with an option for a third year.
– According to The Athletic, 31-year-old Neymar wants to finish his career at Paris Saint-Germain and has no interest in leaving.
FC Aston Villa now stand alone at the top of the Antigua & Barbuda Football Association (ABFA) Premier League table thanks to a mammoth 8-0 win over Cedar Grove Blue Jays at the ABFA Technical Centre in Pynter on Friday.
Yasnay Torres ripped through the Blue Jays defense to finish with five goals on the day. His goals came in the 22nd, 37th, 38th, 55th and 68th minutes while the other three goals came from Shahoi Dorsett in the 42nd, Sean Tomlinson in the 53rd and Joshua Ferdinand in the 91st.
FC Aston Villa now have 37 points from 15 games to lead the table while the Blue Jays are 14th with 10 points from 14 games.
Grenades are only a point behind FC Aston Villa after a 3-0 win over Ottos Rangers on Sunday. Vashami Allen opened the scoring for Grenades in the 10th minute before the points were secured late in the second half through goals from Carl Osbourne in the 83rd minute and Donovan Baptiste in the 92nd minute. Ottos Rangers are ninth in the table with 19 points from 13 games.
Sunday’s other games saw Swetes and Greenbay Hoppers play out a 1-1 draw while the game between Pigott’s Bullets and Empire ended in a similar score-line.
In the first game, Rodney Lawrence opened the scoring for the Hoppers in the second minute before Shalon Knight got Swetes’ equalizer in the 65th minute. The Hoppers are sixth in the table with 22 points from 14 games while Swetes are one spot below them with the same number of points and one more game played.
In the second game, the Bullets took the lead in the 19th minute through Tyrique Thwaites before Rakeewm Joseph equalized for Empire in the 67th minute. Empire are tenth in the standings with 18 points from 14 games while Pigott’s Bullets are 13th with 15 points from their 14 matches.
The first of three games on Saturday saw Old Road get a 5-0 win over Five Islands to move to fourth in the table with 27 points from 15 outings.
Christhian Hereira and Raheem Deterville each got doubles for Old Road while Jonathan Shoy was also on the scoresheet. Hereira’s strikes came in the seventh and 68th minutes, Deterville’s in the 31st and 38th minutes and Shoy scored in the eighth minute. Five Islands are 15th in the table with three points from 15 games.
Game two on Saturday saw Parham secure a 3-1 win over Willikies. Parham took the lead in the 21st minute through Malcolm Stewart before doubling their advantage four minutes before the half through Stewart again. James Simon gave Willikies hope of a comeback in the 57th minute before Kenja Benjamin sealed the points for Parham 10 minutes later.
Parham are now 11th in the table with 18 points from 15 games while Willikies remain eighth 20 points from 14 games.
Tryum secured a 2-1 win over Liberta Blackhawks in Saturday’s final game. After a goalless first half, Tryum took the lead in the 51st minute through Chevel Cunningham before Curlon Joseph doubled their lead 20 minutes later. Liberta got a consolation goal in the 86th minute through Abraham Barry.
Tryum are fifth in the standings with 25 points from 15 games while Liberta Blackhawks remain at the foot of the 16-team table with two points from their 12 games.
The game week will end with third-placed All Saints United taking on 12th-placed SAP on Monday.
RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose does not understand criticism of Erling Haaland's performances for Manchester City, quipping: "If you don't want him, send him to me."
Leipzig travel to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against City on Tuesday, having recovered from a goal down to clinch a 1-1 draw in last month's first leg.
Rose's men contained Haaland – who he coached during a one-season spell in charge of Borussia Dortmund – on that occasion, but the Norwegian has hit an astonishing 28 goals in 26 Premier League appearances this term.
Despite those returns, some have suggested Haaland is unsuited to Pep Guardiola's possession-based style of play, with former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher questioning whether the striker had joined the wrong club last month.
However, Haaland's former boss Rose does not see any downside to his presence in City's team and believes it is impossible to keep him totally quiet.
"If you don't want him, send him to me! I'll take him," Rose said at Monday's pre-match press conference. "Even just for the last 10 games. After that, you can have him back!
"I'm really surprised about that [criticism]. He's scored 28 goals in 26 league games. If you take those goals away, I don't know where City would be in the league.
"I don't know what we're talking about. Everyone knows about Haaland's qualities. We were able to defend well against him in the first leg, but you'll never be able to keep him completely quiet.
"They don't just have Erling – there will be many world-class players we'll need to be alert for."
Haaland has scored 17 times in 11 home Champions League games in his career, netting two or more goals on seven occasions and averaging a goal every 49 minutes in those matches.
With City enjoying a 23-match unbeaten streak in Champions League games at the Etihad, Rose says Leipzig must produce their best display of the season to progress.
"We played against Man City three weeks ago. We know what we'll come up against," he said. "In the end, you have to find the right balance against a top team like that.
"Trust, confidence and us playing our best game of the season are what we need tomorrow."
Manchester United will not appeal against a four-game domestic ban given to Casemiro after his red card against Southampton, with Raphael Varane backing them to cope in his absence.
A VAR review saw Casemiro shown a straight red card for a forceful challenge on Carlos Alcaraz during the first half of Sunday's goalless draw at Old Trafford.
The midfielder was also sent off in a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace last month, making him the first United player to receive two red cards in a single Premier League season since Nemanja Vidic in 2013-14.
His second dismissal of the campaign means he must serve a four-match domestic suspension, missing Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham as well as league meetings with Newcastle United, Brentford and Everton.
Erik ten Hag questioned Casemiro's dismissal after Sunday's game, claiming the 31-year-old is "tough but fair" and labelling the decision "debatable".
On Monday, however, United confirmed they would not launch an appeal against the Brazilian's suspension, having determined "there was not a high chance of being able to overturn the ban".
United have suffered as many defeats in seven Premier League games without Casemiro (W3 D1) as in 19 (W12 D4) with the former Real Madrid man this term, while their win rate drops from 63.2 per cent to 42.9 per cent in his absence.
Varane, however, believes the depth of their squad will now come to the fore, saying: "He's a player who is very important for us. He brings balance to the team and to the squad.
"But we have a great squad and we have to find another balance without him. We have good players in every position on the pitch and we are ready for the next games.
"I think he was very disappointed because nobody wants to be off the pitch before the end. We can't be happy with the decision he [the referee] takes but that's part of football."
Casemiro will be available when United travel to Real Betis for the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, after the Red Devils posted a 4-1 win in the first fixture at Old Trafford last week.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is "on the right path" towards earning similar hero status at Napoli to that enjoyed by the "god of football" Diego Maradona, according to his coach Luciano Spalletti.
Kvaratskhelia has shone throughout a campaign in which Napoli appear destined to end their 33-year wait to win the Scudetto.
The Georgian netted his 11th league goal of the season as Napoli overcame Atalanta 2-0 on Saturday, leaving defenders in his wake before firing home as Spalletti's men moved 18 points clear at the Serie A summit.
With Napoli's first title win since the Maradona era drawing closer, Spalletti believes comparisons between Kvaratskhelia and the inspirational Argentine are not without merit.
"This victory was the best. Turning the tables in terms of our results with this quality of play was the best," Spalletti told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli on Monday.
"The team played a great game against a very tough opponent like Atalanta. Physically they are the strongest team of all in Serie A, but also in terms of running in open spaces.
"We moved the ball faster, with a few less touches but with quality, in order to be able to hurt them with pace and speed.
"Then there was that stuff that Kvaratskhelia showed us... This time we can say it was a goal like those of Maradona.
"The god of football was the god of football, but Kvara is on the right path. He has a speed of touch, you never know where he can go."
Kvaratskhelia's tally of 20 goal contributions (11 goals, nine assists) is only bettered by team-mate Victor Osimhen (19 goals, four assists) in Serie A this season, while he has also created 17 chances following carries and completed 41 dribbles, with the latter total only bettered by Rafael Leao's 44.
Napoli host Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, defending a 2-0 advantage in their bid to reach the last eight for the first time.
Tuesday will bring two finely poised contests in the Champions League last 16 as the second legs continue.
A late goal from Romelu Lukaku gave Inter a narrow 1-0 advantage against Porto at San Siro heading into the return fixture in Portugal.
The Serie A giants did not exactly prepare well, though, losing 2-1 at lowly Spezia on Friday, while Sergio Conceicao's side earned a hard-fought 3-2 win against Estoril Praia the same day.
Manchester City host RB Leipzig fresh off a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace thanks to an Erling Haaland penalty, while the Bundesliga club moved up to third in the table following a comfortable 3-0 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.
After their 1-1 draw in the first leg in Germany, Pep Guardiola will be hoping that home advantage can keep the club's dream alive of a first Champions League title.
Stats Perform has picked out the standout Opta data to preview Tuesday's games.
Porto v Inter
Porto have lost three of their five matches against Inter in the Champions League, though all three of those defeats came away from home. The return leg at the Estadio do Dragao could mean a different story, as they have earned one win and one draw against Inter on home soil.
Having said that, Porto have lost four of their last six home matches in the knockout stages of the Champions League, conceding 13 goals across those four defeats.
They have, though, won each of their last four home matches in Europe against Italian clubs, beating Roma, Juventus, Milan and Lazio in succession. The last Italian side to defeat them away from home was Juventus in February 2017.
Inter have progressed from four of their five two-legged Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg, only being eliminated from such a position in 2005-06 by Villarreal.
Porto have been eliminated from six of their seven two-legged Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, only progressing in 2018-19 against Roma.
Lukaku's winning goal in the first leg meant he has scored eight goals in 12 appearances for Inter in the Champions League. His record of 111 minutes per goal is the best of any player to have scored five or more goals for the club in the European Cup/Champions League.
Manchester City v RB Leipzig
City are unbeaten across their last 23 home matches in the Champions League, winning 21. If they avoid defeat in this match, they will equal Arsenal's record for the longest home unbeaten run by an English club in the competition (24 games between September 2004 and April 2009).
Leipzig are unbeaten in five matches in the Champions League (W4 D1), their longest unbeaten run in the competition since a seven-game stretch in 2019-20 when they reached the semi-final.
The last team to defeat City at the Etihad Stadium in a Champions League knockout stage match was Liverpool in the 2017-18 quarter-final second leg – visiting sides have avoided defeat just once in eight matches since.
Marco Rose has taken charge of three matches in the Champions League knockout stages, with all three coming against City, after his Monchengladbach side were eliminated by the club in the last 16 in 2020-21. The only previous instance of a head coach facing the same opponent in his first four Champions League knockout stage matches is Frank Rijkaard against Chelsea between 2004-05 and 2005-06.
Haaland has scored 17 goals in 11 home matches in the Champions League for Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and City, scoring at least two goals in seven of those games. The Norwegian has scored a goal every 49 minutes on average in these matches.
Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku has scored 10 goals across his last 12 starts in the Champions League, including a hat-trick against City at the Etihad Stadium in September 2021. Nkunku is one of two players to score a hat-trick against City in the competition, the other being Lionel Messi in October 2016.
Pep Guardiola admitted his time at Manchester City will be judged on Champions League success, despite remaining in the hunt for three trophies this season.
Five points behind Arsenal in the hunt for the Premier League title, City face Burnley on Saturday in the FA Cup quarter-finals as the push for a potential treble continues.
Before that, City's focus will be on their European campaign, with their last-16 tie with RB Leipzig delicately poised after a 1-1 draw in the first leg.
Last month, Riyad Mahrez's opening goal was cancelled out by Josko Gvardiol's second-half equaliser, leaving everything to play for at Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
City stand as the favourites for many to go all the way in the Champions League this season, though they have fallen short in previous campaigns when shouldering such expectations.
While Guardiola has won a plethora of honours during his time with the club, he conceded he will be judged on whether he can deliver long-awaited Champions League glory.
"Yes," he replied when asked if that was the case at the pre-match press conference, "It doesn't mean I agree with that, but absolutely we will be judged by this competition.
"Every team at this stage has a lot of qualities and many strengths. Tomorrow, we have to impose our game and do what we have to do. We have to win the game, so it is easy.
"It is not about how many goals we have to score; it is just to win the game - that is what we have to do."
Though others will look to the Champions League as the be-all and end-all for City, Guardiola outlined the importance of competing in three competitions at this stage of the season.
"It's really important to be alive for the last few months of the season, so you do as much as you can to extend the chance to be in the competitions, to still be in Europe, or in the Premier League, to be close to Arsenal," he said.
"I don't know any team, manager or player who plays in a competition and tries not to win. I've never met anyone like that. Everyone wants to win, there's no exception here."
Kevin de Bruyne downplayed any suggestion of issues within the team and a decline in form for Manchester City's star striker Erling Haaland.
Haaland has been in sensational form in his debut campaign with the club, scoring 34 goals in all appearances across all competitions.
However, the Norway international has scored just three goals in his last nine appearances, leading to suggestions that his performance levels have dropped.
De Bruyne does not see it that way though, explaining that teams are more prepared to face him now than they were at the beginning of the season.
"I think it's a bit of everything but I don't feel like it's different than in the beginning," he told a press conference ahead of the Champions League clash against RB Leipzig.
"People are maybe more anticipating to his runs, there's always the first part of the season and then the second part. In the second part, I feel teams are a lot more organised, they play for more from both sides of the table, so people are more prepared in every sense of the way.
"Maybe he was a little bit more prolific [before] when he got the chances but I don't think we need to complain about Erling's output. I think he's fine.
"If we see the Crystal Palace game, he could have scored two, I don't think there's any issue but obviously people are always anticipating for him to score two or three goals but his average is a goal a game. It seems fine for me.
"It's good to have different options. In the past few years, people would maybe say there wasn't enough presence in the box and there wasn't enough deep runs, now people are saying the opposite.
"It works in different ways. In the beginning of the season when everything was going in, we were winning a lot of games and nothing was going wrong, but then obviously when you lose a few points it's different.
"I don't think there's an issue with anything going out from the team or with Erling. I know people will judge on how we play and maybe we sometimes play a better brand of football in different games or in other years but that happens.
"Crystal Palace at home for instance, he won us the game. I think the team is really happy with him, he's really happy playing with us, so I think we're fine."
Southampton have said they are "disgusted and disappointed" by racist abuse aimed at Kyle Walker-Peters following their goalless draw at Manchester United.
The right-back received a number of racist replies after posting on Instagram following Sunday's stalemate at Old Trafford.
Southampton issued a statement on Monday condemning the abuse, though Walker-Peters was not named directly, with the club confirming the messages had been forwarded to Hampshire Police.
The Premier League club also referenced a similar incident from two years ago in which now former player Alexandre Jankewitz was racially abused following a game against the same opposition.
"In February 2021 the club made a statement about one of our young players receiving abhorrent racial abuse following a match against Manchester United," the statement read.
"More than two years on, we find ourselves in the exact same position: disgusted and disappointed in the behaviour of those online who lower themselves to abusing players for the colour of their skin.
"What is equally frustrating is the lack of meaningful action in those two years from the social media platforms who allow such hatred to breed and fester.
"As we have said before, Southampton Football Club fights every day to remove such people from our sport and our community in order to protect our players, our staff, Southampton fans and those football supporters around the world who recognise and celebrate the diversity that makes football special.
"We have forwarded the messages concerned to Hampshire Police in keeping with our normal processes when dealing with these cases.
"We have also reported these posts to the social media platforms involved.
"We can only hope that they finally pay attention to what continues to be a major problem and that we do not find ourselves repeating these words in another two years time."
Bunny Shaw’s goal-scoring exploits have reached record-breaking levels for Manchester City Women this season after she scored twice on Sunday to lead her side to a 2-1 victory over Brighton.
Shaw scored in the 21st minute and 89th minute after Elizabeth Terland had pulled Brighton level in the 33rd minute. These were Shaw’s 25th and 26th goals in 22 games this season surpassing the previous 24 goals in the 2018/2019 season by Nikita Parris.
In 2023 alone, the Jamaican striker has scored two hat-tricks, while also striking four times in an 8-1 FA Cup win over Bristol City in February. Since joining Manchester City from Bordeaux in the 2021/2022 season, Shaw has scored 45 goals in 51 appearances, at an average of 0.88 per game.
Following Sunday’s record-breaking performance, team manager Gareth Taylor expressed his pride at Shaw’s achievements.
“I’m super proud of Bunny and all the players are. She understands the support and help she gets here to allow her to be herself,” Taylor said.
“I think what she’s done is remarkable, really - to go from the first game of the season scoring and not really have a dry spell at all, maybe a couple of games. She’s continued to score goals. She’s certainly a proven goal scorer, but it’s the types of goals she’s getting now and everything else she brings to us in the games.
“I think that’s nine in three games now, which is crazy.”
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
