In case you didn’t hear, Manchester City didn’t just beat Real Madrid last night, they absolutely battered them, booking a place in their second Champions League final just two years on from their last.
Although many might have thought Wayne Rooney’s prediction that Man City would “blow Madrid away” was a bit bold, especially after a much more closely contested first leg, we don’t think anyone was quite expecting the result that Pep Guardiola‘s men delivered on Wednesday evening.
With Bernado Silva putting the Blues 2-0 up with a quickfire double inside 37 minutes before Manuel Akanji and Julián Álvarez rounded off an emphatic 4-0 win, the 13-time European champions looked like a completely different team and basically let the home side romp into the final against Inter Milan.
Moreover, sealing the trip to Istanbul also means that City are now within touching distance of winning a treble. In fact, it’s now so close that despite trying to remain as modest as possible throughout the season, even Pep and his players are starting to admit it’s on their minds.
🗣 "Now the players can visualise it"
Pep Guardiola admits his Manchester City players are thinking about winning the treble 👀pic.twitter.com/XzGqOUmPdO
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 18, 2023
Even Pep can’t deny that Manchester City are now dreaming of a treble.
They only need three points from their remaining three games to lift their ninth league title and seventh Premier League in just over a decade, four of those have come under Pep. In fact, even if they only get two more points, they’d still win on goal difference, let alone if Arsenal drop any more themselves.
But what exactly are the chances that the Catalan coach not only lifts his fifth English league title, second FA Cup and third-ever Champions League? Well, if you ask Jamie Carragher, City’s chances were around 75% before the semi-final but are now at 90%.
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Speaking after the game, Jack Grealish said he was too speechless to think about the likelihood but you get the feeling that everyone around the club is now starting to believe it’s going to happen.
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 17, 2023
There are seven teams that have won a ‘proper’ treble of the league title, main domestic cup and European cup in football history — Celtic, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan; Bayern Munich and Barcelona (twice each) and, of course, Manchester United — and Pep has already done it once back in 2008/09.
Admittedly, Pep did it one of the greatest teams ever assembled, with Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and countless other legends at his disposal. On the other hand, many have already described this current City squad in similar terms, boasting some of the most generational talents on the planet right now.
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Furthermore, with them basically a dead cert to win the league as early as this weekend and 2/7 to beat United in the FA Cup final in a couple of week’s time by most bookies’ estimates, it really does just look like a question of whether or not they can go and win their first Champions League trophy.
Many are already calling it ‘their year’ and despite plenty of fans saying that for the last couple of seasons now, most teams that build towards it like City have, gradually progressing further and further each season, do tend to go on and win it. Especially with stats like this:
Man United's 99' season 🆚 Man City's 23' season
◾️ Man City wins ✅ ◾️ Man City points ✅ ◾️ Man City goals scored ✅ ◾️ Man City goals conceded ✅ ◾️ Man United longest unbeaten run ✅
They’re simply an incredible team, no one can deny that. The only thing you could argue is going against them at this late and seriously convincing stage is that Pep has never won the Champions League at any other club than Barcelona, despite coaching one of the best Bayern Munich teams ever.
City have also been an absolute fortress at home, winning every single home match in 2023 and not losing a single UCL game there for five years, but travelling away to another ground for a history-defining match against three-time European champions is an occasion that could get to anyone.
Furthermore, Inter clearly have a lot of experience in this tournament and, who knows, derby days really are a different beast and Erik ten Hag‘s side has already beaten them 2-1 once this year. Then again, the same team did also get spanked by Pep’s lot 6-3 too…
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For many United fans, a lot of the sentiment seems to be that it’s pretty much inevitable now and they just have to start coming to terms with it; whether they like it or not, it’s now just them and Inter that stand in the way. What do you reckon, are City finally going to do it in Europe and maybe even match United’s sacred treble?
Featured Image — Man City (via Twitter)/Dave (via Flickr)
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Pep Guardiola apologises for ’embarrassing’ camera operator confrontation
Danny Jones
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has apologised after confronting a cameraman following the Premier League fixture against Newcastle United this past weekend.
The Blues boss was left visibly frustrated as Man City were beaten 2-1 away at St James’ Park by Eddie Howe’s side following a flurry of three finishes in the space of just six minutes.
However, this wasn’t the only action pitchside during the game, as not only have some supporters argued they should have had a penalty as Phil Foden was brought down in the box, Pep was also seen engaging in a loaded exchange with opposition captain Bruno Guimarães, as well as a camera operator.
Guardiola has since apologised for the incident, confessing he was left “embarrassed” by his own conduct and admitting that even “after 1,000 games, I’m not a perfect person – I make huge mistakes.”
As you can see, the Catalan coach approached the member of the broadcasting team following a fairly widespread spat both during the second Newcastle goal and following the full-time whistle.
Despite journalists recognising a natural amount of frustration and passion amidst the narrow loss and speculation over decisions, he went so far as to say he wasn’t “ashamed” of his actions at the time and doesn’t like or condone this kind of behaviour.
He was also seen smacking his seat in the dugout after conceding as well as after missed chances by his own players.
Pep assured that he apologised to the cameraman within seconds, remarking, “I am who I am” and reminding football fans that he is a human capable of acting on instinct just like anyone else.
He also clarified that the bulk of his issues on the day were to do with the officiating, taking umbrage with the referee’s decision-making in multiple instances.
You can see the clip down below:
"I feel embarrassed and ashamed when I see it"
Pep Guardiola apologises for his behaviour towards a camera operator after the defeat at Newcastle. pic.twitter.com/wVYfJDbnLm
As for his conversation with Guimarães, he wouldn’t disclose any details of their conversation, but did insist to one reporter that they share a good relationship, confessing that he is “an emotional guy” and can often appear particularly animated as he is known for gesticulating.
It seems that the 54-year-old was just annoyed over the potential penalty, but match-winner Harvey Barnes’ brace in particular, too.
Not only were there questions of a foul on new goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma – whose shot-stopping was otherwise excellent for the majority of the match – but Guimarães was supposedly offside in the build-up to the strike.
Regardless, Pep went on to add that the confrontation with the cameraman, Donnarumma’s booking for dissent, and general disappointment have been “immediately forgotten”, and all eyes are now focused on City’s big European meeting with Bayern Leverkusen.
You can see the highlights from Newcastle vs Man City down below.
Scott Carson reveals important behind-the-scenes role at Manchester City
Danny Jones
Recently retired goalkeeper Scott Carson has revealed the unsung but important role he had behind the scenes during his time at Manchester City.
The 40-year-old ex-pro called time on his playing career after more than two decades and six years in sky blue, having made just two appearances for the club during a period in which they won 11 trophies.
Carson officially hung up his gloves on 23 October 2025, following his contract expiration, and since then has found himself carrying out a number of interviews, including one with Fozcast, hosted by another fellow shotstopper who spent time in Manchester, Ben Foster.
While lots of people have joked that he did very little to earn the flurry of medals so late in his career, or at the very least theorised as to what he actually did behind the scenes, he’s now been more open than ever about the largely sidelined spell.
🗣️ "When people had to be serious, they were serious"
Scott Carson reveals what it was like working under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. pic.twitter.com/HZGjVkrso0
Sitting down with Sky Sports, the Cumbrian keeper confirmed that initially it was, indeed, just a case of serving as not even as a rotation option but a back-up third choice.
Nevertheless, he’s an experienced veteran with 11 different teams on his CV, including Leeds United, Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday – though only a handful of games for each – as well as half a century of appearances at Wigan Athletic before his longest stints at the likes of West Brom and Derby County.
While this job usually involves purely training, helping keep other players sharp, he says that after settling into the Etihad Campus a little more, he found himself performing a much more influential, albeit largely unsung, role in the background.
Getting validation from manager Pep Guardiola that the side “needed more of that”, he essentially ended up providing valuable seniority and motivation amongst the group, despite only playing a couple of times.
Bidding farewell to the Whitehaven-born cult hero, the club wrote: “During his time at City, Carson has been praised by goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor and peers Ederson and Stefan Ortega Moreno for his work ethic and the effect of his positive attitude amongst the group.”
Speaking about Guardiola specifically, he hailed the Catalan coach for having overhauled modern football in this country, as well as giving him the secondary task of supporting his teammates, be it via boosting morale and ‘picking up’ those left frustrated by matchday selection.
As well as noting his widely publicised detail-oriented nature, he also made a point of recognising that Pep himself was “evolving each season”, whether or not everyone else saw it.
In short, he said he has helped improve the quality of the Premier League and, more specifically, that he helped redefine what a goalkeeper can be in the division.
You can watch the rest of the interview in full down below.
Danny Jones -
18th May 2023 
