05-31-2023, 11:18 AM
It is only a matter of time until Manchester City win the Champions League under Pep Guardiola, according to their former defender Kolo Toure.As part of their treble bid, City face record 14-time European champions Real Madrid in the first leg of a mouth-watering semi-final tie that begins at Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday.No manager has lost more Champions League semi-final ties than Guardiola, who has suffered six defeats in nine appearances at this stage.But Toure is convinced a City succe s in Europes elite club competition will come sooner rather than later and believes this could be the year for Guardiola to win his third Champions League crown, and first Henry Ellenson Jersey with City.It is a matter of time, we all know that and you can see that, Toure, who played for City between 2009 and 2013, told Stats Perform.City has been dominant in the Premier League, of course. And in Champions League, they havent got as far, but theyve been so unlucky a few times. In football, you need that luck element, Joe Dumars Jersey its maybe that one or two per cent. At the moment it doesnt go to Man City, but you can feel its coming. For Pep, he knows it is coming anyway. He is breeding the team he wants. Of course, when youre not winning it and for a manager of his stature, everybody is just trying to put the pre sure on, but theres no pre sure because within the Champions League you play against unbelievable teams.Keep calm, keep the proce s, keep improving the team if it doesnt work. Sometimes they are teams who will pre s very well. You have to be able to value the game, you cannot be predictable. If they know youre going to pa s short, they will go at you, and you can lose the ball and that can be damaging. And there are moments you have to feel as a player that, we have to go over because this guy is pre sing so well. City have that and for me, it can help them to reach the Champions League final .You just need to find that key element with which will help them to win that Champions League, which for me is coming. Madrid beat City 6-5 in a memorable semi-final Ersan Ilyasova Jersey tie last season, progre sing after extra time in a painful collapse for Guardiolas men, who led by two goals going into the last minute of the second leg.This season Carlo Ancelottis side have already seen off Liverpool and Chelsea in the knockout stages, but Toure is confident City can progre s after beating RB Leipzig 8-1 on aggregate and then ruthle sly dismi sing Bayern Munich 4-1 over two legs.Toure said: For me, when I look at both teams, I see City going on further because I believe that they have the right team. Now, when I say the right team, I mean they are really Terry Mills Jersey well-balanced. Defensively, they look really strong. In the middle they are strong, but at the same time, they are in form. They look really, really good this year.With Manuel Akanji signing, they look very good in defence . Going forward they have Erling Haaland which brings another dimension in the game because City always been a team that always want to play short ball all the time, but now Kevin De Bruyne can go over the top as well.One thing Pep has been doing really well this season, its been managing the minutes really well, managing the energy.Every time theyre winning 2-0 or 3-0, he just takes the key players out, to rest them to make sure they dont get fatigued to make sure they dont get injured. That management this season will help the players to be fresher because when you go to the end on the Champions League, it is right at the end of the season, and sometimes players are tired physically and they are mentally tired because theyve been playing so many games. That will make you fatigued, thats where you lose the lucidity that you need. A few years ago, you always saw them and at the end of the season not feeling that fresh because weve been over overworked really. But this season, I look at the Manchester City team and they look really fresh.After the match in Spain, City will travel to Everton in the Premier League on Sunday Detroit Pistons Jersey before the return leg against Madrid in Manchester on May 17.