City boss Guardiola sets sights on next season’s quadruple

Fresh after avenging his side’s Champions League defeat against Tottenham, Pep Guardiola will target the quadruple again next season with Manchester City despite the disappointment of this week’s Champions League exit against Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

Pochettino and Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp -- Guardiola’s closest challenger for the Premier League title -- have both advanced to the semi-finals of Europe’s leading club competition.

But, unlike Guardiola, that duo have placed far less emphasis on the domestic cup competitions, fielding weakened sides in the early rounds of the League Cup and FA Cup.

By contrast Guardiola, in contrast, has always fielded full, or near-full, strength teams, leaving him open to accusations fatigue is hampering his team in the season’s closing stages. Nevertheless the City manager, who won the League Cup against Chelsea and faces an FA Cup final date with Watford next month, is adamant he would never deliberately attempt to be knocked out of a competition.

“I don’t understand in my profession, it is not to say I don’t want to win, I don’t understand that,” said Guardiola.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss added: “Who knows what’s going to happen in the future? The present is this game and I will try.

“I will dream next season of fighting for the four titles, that’s my dream.” Despite the traumatic nature of the aggregate reverse on away goals against Spurs, City are still just five wins -- four in the league and the FA Cup Final -- away from becoming the first English team ever to win a domestic treble.

Agence France-Presse