Man City are UCL favourites ‘at every stage’ as Guardiola has ‘eradicated complacency’
Because Pep Guardiola has “eradicated complacency” in the team he has assembled, former Manchester City defender Joleon Lescott feels his team is “favorites at every stage” of this year’s Champions League.
The previous season saw City’s first-ever Champions League victory. Together with the Premier League and FA Cup, it was the culmination of a historic treble-winning season.
With not a single point lost in the group stage, they easily advanced to the round of 16. Lescott believes that when they play Copenhagen in the following round, they will defeat them and every other club they come across until at least the semifinals.
They take advantage of the fantastic environment and challenging location. He told TNT Sports, “They’re a well-organized team.”
“I think City can handle most teams or pretty much any club over two legs because, on average, they score two goals a game, so you’ll need to score three or four.”
“If they advance that far in the competition, they will be the favourites through every round. Though I would like to think they will have too much for Copenhagen, that doesn’t mean they will pass.
Lescott thinks that the reason they had so little trouble in the knockout stages of the previous season was because Guardiola cultivated a culture of never giving up.
“I believe Pep has approached every game the same way since he took over. He clarified, “He’s stuck to that strategy and has never been complacent.
“There isn’t a weak team within their current roster. They are incredibly productive and he has destroyed complacency. When you are confident in your abilities, you understand that the competition must always be at their best.
“Even if the opposition plays to the best of their abilities, it might not be enough.”
That was made clear the previous season, when RB Leipzig would have believed they had a chance following a 1-1 draw in the first round of 16 leg before losing 7-0 in the second.
Because of their unwavering grind, City is extremely difficult to beat. If they perform as well as they did the previous year, winning back-to-back Champions League titles won’t come as a surprise.
