PEP’S QUADRUPLE HOPES ARE DASHED; COULD HE STILL GET A TREBLE? The quadruple dream is over for Pep Guardiola. The Spanish manager witnessed firsthand last week — when a 10-man Leeds beat Manchester City away with a 2-1 score — that rotating his starting line-up in order to rest his players for four different competitions isn’t always viable. While viewers might have been waiting with bated breath to see if City’s dreams would end with a Champions League elimination, it was the FA Cup semifinals that snuck up on them instead, where Chelsea beat City last evening in a 1-0 result (Hakim Ziyech scored at the 55th minute). City — who were hoping for a quadruple victory with the FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League and Premier League — will now have to adjust expectations. Perhaps a humble treble? The Chelsea clash could very well be practice for the upcoming final of the Champions League, should City and Chelsea both win their semifinal matches (against PSG and Real Madrid, respectively) to meet again during the final. Knowing Guardiola, he will play a different squad entirely on Europe’s biggest stage, despite arguing to the press that his team selection for the FA Cup semi-final wasn’t a product of “not paying enough attention” to the competition. [COMMENT BY: Marwa Hamad, Assistant Editor]
AP