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You mentioned that sort of november december period. I mean be honest, you know when you lost two nil at spurs. In mid november, you dropped to 11th in the table. I know it was still kind of early in the season, but you’re eight points off the lead i mean. Did you honestly think then you’d be sat here six months later with another league title no did, i believe, yeah because of the players that we’ve got did. I think it was realistic um, especially from the season of last season, where liverpool went on a run and never seemed to lose a game. I didn’t think it was possible um, but i believed – and i think the lads believed that we could do it now. We we set small targets and remember i’ve, just said it in an interview there, the manager, the manager did say to us. I remember in a meeting saying that don’t think about winning league. Now we can’t think about winning the league we’re not going to win the league, and that was probably a turning point in in the season where it was tough to take. Because when pep talks and when pep says something pep’s, normally right. So he’s got such a good football knowledge that you know you trust everything he says so when he said that i can remember some of the lads coming out and thinking like not again like we can’t not win it again, but maybe it was him being cruel To be kind to get us to where we’ve got to and giving us that little bit of motivation where it was us probably saying we’re gon na prove you wrong.
You know me and the cath have a really good relationship. You know um since i’ve come here. It’S been nothing but support to me on and off field through. You know to find tough and good moments. Um and you know it’s, probably giving myself a pat on the back for not many people can say that he’s played in every knockout game for pep guardiola. So he knows what i can offer. He knows why i deliver on the gaming uh. Hopefully you know i’m i’m picked for the final. I mean the obvious question this, but what would it mean to you to win it? I mean where would it sit in all of your achievements in your career today? It’S a question that’s always asking the changing room, premier, league or champions league now, for me, is premier league premier league is the one for me, because i’ve grown up watching it it’s. As i said before, it’s a 38 game slog that you can go to ellen road where we found it difficult or you can go to a beautiful stadium like the topspin stadium and find it difficult. Then you’ve got hostile, anfield, it’s everything’s different everything’s different. Everyone always says you know tuesday night stoke, you get them games, you get them games and you have to don’t. You have to dig in, and you know, get the result, but you know i’ve been very fortunate in three years. Well, in four years, i’ve won three premier league medals, so the only one i’m missing is the champions league.
So i think he just really put the icing on the cake and i think as well. Maybe people sit back and actually appreciate a little bit more than what they do, how talented this group of players is and what we’ve done over the four years, because i think sometimes it does go underneath the radar a little bit. It does feel as if it’s something of a holy grail from the outside anyway for city and perhaps for pep himself, given all the domestic success you’ve had. Do you feel that way? Do you think the players feel that way? Um, yes and no. I think yes because, like you, said, we’ve gone and won so many titles since well, since i’ve been here for the last four years, but in the champions league we haven’t we haven’t produced and you have to produce to get into the finals. So it’s you can’t. Just be in the final of the champions league on merit, you have to be there from hard work and you know grit and results fall in your way and you you show in good performance when the games come come around and i think we’ve done that this Season as much as the psg game was a fantastic game um, you know one for everyone to watch that everyone was probably glued to um. I think the dalton one for me was the the turning block, because in the last couple of years, it’s been liverpool tottenham that we haven’t got past the quarterfinals so to finally make that step in the right direction that we want to go to.
I didn’t mind what team would face. I really didn’t because i felt that the momentum now we’ve been in finals we’ve been in semi finals. Okay, we haven’t been in a semi final in the final of the champions league, but we’ve played it. You know in big matches fa cup finals in games that we’ve needed to go back to the second season and games that we’ve needed to win continuously to make sure that other people don’t get the title. We’Ve been in these precious moments, so we’ll we’ll. We will be nervous, of course, we’ll be nervous, come the final, but do i feel that we’ve showed hard work and determination to get there yeah? I don’t think it’s just by mary, okay, you’ve kind of dominated england for the last three years. You should be in the champions league final. He doesn’t work like that. Unfortunately, he talks about all the domestic success the city have had, and i i think that i think you’ve you’ve cemented your place as one of the greatest premier league sides of there’s ever been. Do you think you have to win the champions league, though, to be considered up there with the very best in europe, of course, because to win the champions league? You are the best in europe, so for us to go and do that. I think we can then have a shout out that you know we are the best team in europe, but it’s it’s, a role of a dice.
I don’t want to like sit here and sound like so confident. Yeah we’re, just gon na, need to turn up and go win the game it’s, not that, because chelsea are a very good team, a very, very good team, with a very good manager that has proven you know tactically he’s up there with one of the best with What he’s done for the club in the in the space of a short period of time? But, as you said, you know for us to probably be recognized as one of the best teams. We do probably need to get the champions league and i also think for the club as well. You know for manchester city for the the the amount of money that the owners have pumped into the facilities, not just the players but the facilities as well. On building this, this club, to where it is now um, we owe it to them as well, thanks so much for watching espn on youtube and for more sports, highlights and analysis, be sure to download the espn app and for premium content and live streaming subscribe to.
