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Manchester City begrudgingly close in on League Cup glory

By Drew Pells

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 21: Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City celebrates scoring a penalty with team mate David Silva during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Leicester City at Etihad Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 21: Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City celebrates scoring a penalty with team mate David Silva during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Leicester City at Etihad Stadium on December 21, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Visionhaus) /
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Manchester City’s pursuit of the League Cup a formality more than a genuine title pursuit

After brushing aside a sheepish Manchester United 3-1 in the first leg of the League Cup semifinals Tuesday, Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne said regarding tactics for the match, “We did 15 minutes [Tuesday] morning. That’s about it.”

Now, you can interpret that as a dig at the Red Devils, that City think so little of their cross town rivals that 15 minutes or preparation for them would suffice. Or maybe the lack of training time committed to the match reflects an apathetic attitude towards the competition as a whole.

Regardless of the reason, Manchester City lifting the League Cup for a third year running and fourth time in five years makes no difference on the season. The priority is the Champions League. And more honestly, it’s Champions League glory or bust for City and manager Pep Guardiola.

Man City’s Half Serious Approach

Guardiola sent out a fairly strong XI which included De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, and Fernandinho among other regular starters. However, the omission of a striker brings to light his indifferent feeling towards the match.

With the first leg win, Man City are en route to another trophy. But really, who cares? It’s not as if this competition affects their pursuit of the Champions League. They have at most a second semifinal leg and then final at Wembley on March 1st. That’s it.

If they somehow blow the tie in the second leg, it’s not a disappointment at all. It certainly would be a shocker because of the two goal lead on aggregate going home. But City wouldn’t be bothered. They know they’re the superior of the two Manchester clubs.

Man City simply don’t care one way or the other about winning the League Cup. Guardiola came to the Premier League with one objective, to win the Champions League with City. So far, he’s failed at that.

Any and all accomplishments so far in the Guardiola era, winning the Premier League, accruing 100 points in a league season, and a domestic treble, mean little if the Champions League trophy doesn’t top it all off.

This season, Guardiola’s fourth, they’ve struggled domestically. Injuries at the back have hurt them helping create a 14 point gap between them and leaders Liverpool. At this point, the Premier League title is pretty much wrapped up. That is unacceptable for Guardiola and the board.

Champions League or bust?

While winning the Champions League would forgive all the wrongs of this year, City are far from favorites. Their defensive issues hampering them at domestically make them untrustworthy in Europe. And if they aren’t going to win the Champions League, then Guardiola fails again. It’s Champions League or bust for him and the squad.

For a lot of clubs, winning the League Cup salvages an otherwise down year. Take Wigan in 2013, winning the League Cup the same year they got relegated from the Premier League. That’s something they can hold on to from that year.

Even if they do win it, Manchester City don’t have the luxury of the League Cup as “a trophy” to cap off a season. It’s too far down on the priority list. It doesn’t even register at this point.

If City do indeed lift the cup in March, would it be the least desired competition triumph in sports history? It just might be.

City cared about two things before the year, first was winning the Champions League. A distant second was the Premier League. After winning the domestic treble last year, cup competitions matter no more to this bunch.

At the end of the year, if City have won the League Cup and nothing else, no player will say it amounted to a successful year because they “won a trophy.” No fan would say that either.

City’s XI against Man U while strong on the surface showed an unenthusiastic approach to the match, especially when paired with their training. Or lack thereof.

Manchester City are certainly the best of the teams remaining in the competition, with Leicester and Aston Villa in the other semifinal. But winning it won’t make one iota of a difference for this team.

Flat champagne and celebrations

Manchester City are begrudgingly continuing through the competition. They have one foot in the Wembley door for the final already. And whoever they face, should they advance, they’ll be the favorite. But it couldn’t matter less.

Manchester City might become the first team to not celebrate winning a competition in all of sports. Obviously, they will celebrate if they win. But shoot any player with truth serum after the celebration and ask them if they were more tepid than previous years. The answer will be yes.

City will be the first team in history that might prefer flat champagne for their celebrations

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