The champions league is not an easy competition to predict. And that’s why we love it. It’s always full of surprises. It is easy to look at fixtures and call the winners. Last night, pundits and legends of the game, Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher both predicted Manchester City will go all the way to the final and win.
Thierry Henry and Jame Carragher
Is it Manchester City’s time to emerge victorious?
Since Pep’s arrival in England, he has been tremendously successful, winning the league four times, the FA cup once, and the Carabao cup four times. But that Champions league trophy has just eluded him, as he lost the final to Chelsea in 2021, and has been knocked out in one semi final and multiple quarter finals. As a matter of fact, the Spaniard has not won the cup since he left Barcelona in 2012, causing many to suggest that he can’t win the price without Lionel Messi’s genius.
To be fair, the cityzens have not had that little bit of luck needed to win the most coveted prize in Europe. The sort of luck Liverpool had in 2005 and 2019, with miraculous comebacks. The kind that Manchester United had in 2008 when John Terry slipped and missed the final penalty, or in 1999 when Manchester United scored two late goals in the final against Bayern Munich after being swept away for 90 minutes.
City haven’t been fortunate with luck, even though sometimes you could blame them for dilly dallying and failing to kill games like they did against Real Madrid in the 2022 semi finals, they just haven’t had much luck. Could this be their time? Can they win what has eluded Pep Guardiola for the past 12 years?
Over the years, defeat to Monaco, Liverpool, Madrid, Chelsea, Tottenham and Lyon have prevented the Manchester side from progressing in spite of the beautiful football they play. Will goal machine Haaland make the difference? Will they win the champions league this time? Is it their turn? We can only watch and see.
