MX23RW : Saturday, January 18 20:09:07| >> :60:3272:3272:

Pep Guardiola "not agreeing" with Oleksandr Zinchenko's quadruple claim

Pep Guardiola
© Reuters
Oleksandr Zinchenko believes City can win the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup this year - boss Pep Guardiola disagrees.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was at odds with one of his own players over whether his side can win the quadruple on Monday.

Defender Oleksandr Zinchenko said at a press conference he could see "hungry eyes" in the City squad and they were capable of winning all four trophies in which they are competing this season.

"Of course everything is possible," said the Ukrainian. "We have an unbelievable squad, the best players in the world. Definitely, why not?

Oleksandr Zinchenko has his sights set on four trophies
Oleksandr Zinchenko has his sights set on four trophies (Clive Brunskill/PA)

"Inside the dressing room or inside the team I can see hungry eyes. Everyone is so hungry for the titles. That's what we want."

This was immediately knocked down by Guardiola, who urged the left-back to focus on the job at hand, namely Tuesday's Champions League clash against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Guardiola said: "I am older than Mr Zinchenko. I have more experience and I am not agreeing with him.

"Zinchenko only has to be worried about a good game tomorrow and going through. This is the only way. Four titles has never happened before and I think it is not going to happen."

City go into the second leg of the last-16 tie, which is being played in Budapest due to coronavirus restrictions, with a 2-0 aggregate lead.

Guardiola confirmed Raheem Sterling will travel with the squad after being left out of the matchday squad for Saturday's victory at Fulham.

Guardiola confirmed Sterling's omission was simply a case of rotating his players and said the England forward had not needed to tweet in response to internet rumours it had led to a disagreement between the pair.

"Some crazy rumours on socials today... That's absolutely FALSE," Sterling wrote.

Guardiola said in response: "He doesn't need to do it. Nothing happened. He was not selected, that's all."

Raheem Sterling was not involved in City's win at Fulham
Raheem Sterling was not involved in City's win at Fulham (Peter Powell/PA)

Guardiola added Sterling had reacted well to his decision, as he would expect.

He said: "Always. Raheem and all the players make training and react really well.

"I don't expect they are happy, that's normal. It's always happened since football was created.

"Raheem, in this case, has been so important for the team and all of us."

ID:439328: cacheID:439328:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7362:
Written by
P A
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Borussia Monchengladbach defender Nico Elvedi pictured in February 2020
Read Next:
Monchengladbach's Nico Elvedi refusing to throw in towel against Man City
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool21155150203050
2Arsenal21127241192243
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest21125430201041
4Newcastle UnitedNewcastle22115638261238
5Chelsea21107441261537
6Bournemouth22107536261037
7Manchester CityMan City2110563829935
8Aston Villa2110563132-135
9Fulham228953430433
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2171043229331
11Brentford2284104039128
12Crystal Palace226972528-327
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd217592629-326
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham2275102743-1626
15Tottenham HotspurSpurs21731143321124
16Everton203891526-1117
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2144133148-1716
18Ipswich TownIpswich2137112037-1716
19Leicester CityLeicester2235142348-2514
20Southampton2113171347-346


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!