Zinchenko and Guardiola disagree over Man City's quadruple chances

Jonathan Smith

Zinchenko and Guardiola disagree over Man City's quadruple chances image

Oleksandr Zinchenko insists there is no reason why Manchester City cannot win the quadruple this season - but his manager Pep Guardiola doesn't agree.

The Premier League leaders face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League last 16, holding a 2-0 advantage from the first leg.

City are already in the final of the Carabao Cup and face an FA Cup quarter-final against Everton at the weekend.

What's been said?

Asked about the possibility of winning four trophies, Zinchenko replied: "Of course.

"Bayern showed last year - they won everything, right? Barcelona did it as well the other year with Pep and I think, of course, everything is possible.

"We've got an unbelievable squad, the best players in the world. Definitely, why not?

"Inside the dressing room or inside the team I can see the hungry eyes, everyone is so hungry for the titles and that is what you want."

What was Guardiola's response?

The City manager followed his player in the pre-match press conference and played down the Ukrainian's comments.

"I am older than Mr Zinchenko, I have more experience and I don't agree with him," he said.

"Zinchenko just has to be worried about a good game tomorrow and going through. This is the only way.

"Four titles has never happened [in England] before and I think it is not going to happen. We just think about the next one and then Goodison Park.

"Hopefully the players can come back safe and well from the international break because we play for important things."

What are City's chances?

Zinchenko says City can follow in the footstep of German club Bayern Munich who won all their domestic trophies last season as well as the Champions League.

Hansi Flick's side added the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup in recent months to obtain a clean sweep of trophies available.

Guardiola is the only other manager to have pulled off a similar feat, when he was with Barcelona, but has so far failed to get beyond the quarter-finals in Europe with City.

What's next for City?

Guardiola's side have a good opportunity of reaching the last eight, holding a two-goal advantage from the first leg, although Tuesday's home leg has been switched to Budapest because of coronavirus regulations.

A number of strong teams have already made it into UEFA's draw on Friday, including Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund.

City were surprisingly knocked out by French side Lyon in the last eight of last year's competition and Zinchenko warned: "At this stage I recognise that all teams are quite strong and have a lot of quality players.

"So, especially if we are talking about Borussia Monchengladbach, they organise well defensively, it is not easy to create chances against this type of teams but we will try."

Further reading

Jonathan Smith

Jonathan Smith Photo

Jonathan Smith is Goal's Manchester City correspondent, covering the club home, away and abroad. He joined Goal in August 2019 after three years in the same role for ESPN and having previously spent more than four years on the sports desk at the Manchester Evening News. Jonathan has become a trusted and respected journalist on the club - regularly appearing on media outlets such as Love Sport radio, beIN Sports, Esporte Interativo, Premier League Productions as well as the club's own media site and City podcasts such as Blue Moon.