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Tag: Manchester City

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Manchester City win maiden UEFA Super Cup title, beat Sevilla on penalties | Football News – Times of India

Manchester City secured their maiden UEFA Super Cup title on Wednesday, albeit needing a penalty shootout to overcome Sevilla following a 1-1 draw in Athens.Sevilla initially took the lead through Youssef En-Nesyri's commanding header during the first half.Despite not being at their fluid best, European champions City managed to level the match, forcing a penalty shootout with Cole Palmer's header.Executing flawlessly from the penalty spot, City emerged triumphant in the shootout, winning 5-4 as Sevilla's Nemanja Gudelj struck the crossbar.Pep Guardiola voiced his concerns about his team's inadequate pre-season preparation, a sentiment that manifested on the field in the scorching Greek capital.City sorely felt the absence of the creative duo Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva, sideline...
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Watch: Manchester City win UEFA Super Cup by beating Sevilla in penalty shootout

Manchester City marked its first appearance in the UEFA Super Cup by beating Sevilla 5-4 in a penalty shootout on Wednesday to add another piece of silverware to its vast haul under manager Pep Guardiola. After a 1-1 draw in regulation time and then nine successful spot kicks in the shootout, Nemanja Gudelj struck his attempt against the crossbar to hand City victory inside Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis. It was a 15th trophy won by City in Guardiola’s reign that started in 2016 and made up for the loss to Arsenal in a penalty shootout in the Community Shield 10 days ago. “The manager made it so clear to us before the game how much he wants to win this trophy,” City midfielder Jack Grealish said about the annual match between last season’s winners of the Champions League (City) and Europa ...
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Can oil-money buy football dreams? As European football season beckons, the cash-rich shadow of Saudi Pro League looms large

It was Napoleon who had said, “whoever possesses Constantinople ought to rule the world.” By the end of June 10 – in pure footballing terms – it was Manchester City. Europe has, for long, been the heartbeat of club football. And City, the champions of England, were finally the champions of Europe. It was the last piece of silverware missing in their trophy cabinet and now, they had it. Making them unequivocally, the best football club in the world. Maybe even of all times. But just as the days rolled by and we moved closer to the beginning of another football year around the sun, Pep Guardiola’s juggernaut wasn’t the big topic of conversation in football circles. The departure of club captain Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez wasn’t an issue. The arrivals of the likes of Josko Gvardiol an...
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Impossible for Man City to recreate ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ treble win, says Guardiola

Manchester City will not be able to scale the dizzying heights of last season’s treble-winning campaign, manager Pep Guardiola said on Thursday ahead of their Premier League opener against Burnley. Guardiola’s side have won five of the last six Premier League titles and last season also won the FA Cup and expanded their domestic dominance to the continent as they lifted the Champions League for the first time. Despite City undoubtedly being favourites in every competition they will feature in this season, Guardiola was rather guarded about the team’s prospects. “It will not be possible to do what we did last season, it is once in a lifetime,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of Friday’s trip to Turf Moor. “We climbed the highest mountain last season, but in the last two days we came down ...
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Arsenal down Man City in shootout to win Community Shield

Arsenal beat Manchester City 4-1 in a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield on Sunday and strike the first blow in this season’s rivalry between the two clubs.Fabio Vieira scored the winning spot-kick after Arsenal scored a late equaliser in stoppage-time to earn a 1-1 draw with the Premier League champions and take the game at London’s Wembley Stadium into a shootout.Community Shield matches often have a ‘friendly’ feel but with cynical fouls and crunching tackles in the London sunshine, there was no shortage of intensity – spilling over perhaps from last season’s title race in which City emerged victorious. Introducing your 2023/24 FA Community Shield winners… Congratulations @Arsenal! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2eQbtLRu6A — Premier League (@premierleague) August 6, 2023 “For us, it’s ...
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Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol joins Manchester City | Football News – Times of India

Manchester City have finalised the signing of Croatian centre-back Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig on a five-year contract, the Premier League champions confirmed on Saturday.There were no financial specifics published, but Pep Guardiola's side are thought to have agreed a sum of 90 million euros ($99 million) for the Croatia international.Gvardiol, 21, has impressed in his two seasons at Leipzig, which he joined in July 2021 from Dynamo Zagreb."I have always dreamed of one day playing in England and to be doing so now with Manchester City - after the season they have just had - is a real honour for me," said Gvardiol of joining a team which won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last year."Anyone who saw Manchester City play last season knows they are the best team in the w...
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Manchester City reportedly close to signing Croatia center back Josko Gvardiol

Manchester City is ready to make a big move in the transfer market, days before the start of the new season. The English and European champions are set to sign Croatia center back Josko Gvardiol for a reported 90 million euros ($98.3 million) from German club Leipzig, making him one of the world’s most expensive defenders. Neither City nor Leipzig have commented publicly about the deal for Gvardiol, who will reportedly undergo a medical examination this week. Manchester United’s Harry Maguire cost 80 million pounds (then $97 million) when he joined from Leicester in 2019, while Virgil van Dijk moved from Southampton to Liverpool for 75 million pounds (then $100 million) in 2018. The 21-year-old Gvardiol, known as “Little Pep” because of his name’s likeness to City manager Pep Guardiola,...
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Saudi investment has ‘changed’ transfer market, says Man City’s Pep Guardiola after Riyad Mahrez exit

Saudi Arabia has changed football’s transfer market in their bid to “create a strong league”, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said on Saturday after Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez left the Premier League club to join Al-Ahli. Mahrez, who scored 78 goals and made 59 assists for City in a trophy-laden spell at the club, on Friday joined the Saudi Pro League side for a reported sum of 35 million euros ($38.55 million) plus five million in add-ons. Asked if he had wanted Mahrez to remain at City, Guardiola told reporters: “Definitely. I enjoyed as a manager to be with him. I had a special relationship with him… “Saudi Arabia has changed the market. A few months ago when Cristiano (Ronaldo) was the only one to go, no one thought this many top, top players would play in the Saudi league,”...
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Britain’s first million pound footballer Trevor Francis dies of heart attack | Football News – Times of India

Former England forward Trevor Francis, who was also Britain's first one million pound player, has passed away at the age of 69. His family announced on Monday that he died after suffering a heart attack.Francis began his professional career at Birmingham City in 1970 and went on to play for several prominent clubs, including Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, and Sheffield Wednesday.He made history in 1979 when he was transferred from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest for a then record-breaking fee of one million pounds, making him the first player in Britain to command such a hefty transfer fee. During his time at Nottingham Forest, he left a lasting legacy by scoring the winning goal in the 1979 European Cup final against Malmo.Francis was a talented and influential player during ...
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Kovacic joins Man City from Chelsea on four-year-deal

Manchester City have signed Chelsea’s Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic on a four-year deal, the treble winners said on Tuesday. No financial details were disclosed but British media reported that City paid Chelsea 25 million pounds ($31.87 million) plus five million in add-ons for the midfielder. “This is a brilliant move for me, and I cannot wait to get started with City,” Kovacic said in a club statement. Mateo’s first words as a City player! 🗣️ — Manchester City (@ManCity) June 27, 2023 “Anyone who has watched this team under (coach) Pep (Guardiola) knows how good they are – for me, they are the best in the world. The trophies they have won are clear for all to see, but they are also the best footballing side out there. “To be joining this squad really is a dream for any footballer....
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Ilkay Gundogan set to join Barcelona on a free transfer from Manchester City | Football News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is reportedly on the verge of leaving the treble-winning club to join Barcelona on a free transfer, according to sources on Wednesday. It is believed that Gundogan has been offered a three-year contract by the Spanish champions and is expected to finalise the move once his Manchester City contract expires at the end of June.Earlier reports indicated that Manchester City was prepared to offer their 32-year-old captain a new one-year contract with the possibility of an additional 12 months. However, it was revealed on the same day that City agreed to a £30 million ($38 million) deal to sign Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic.The arrival of Kovacic, known for his versatility and experience, is seen as a move to compensate for the departure...
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Leicester City hires coach who helped Pep Guardiola and Manchester City to trophy treble

Fresh from helping Manchester City win a treble of trophies, Enzo Maresca was hired as manager of relegated Leicester on Friday. The Italian coach was part of Pep Guardiola’s backroom team at City, where he won the English Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup this season. Maresca was signed to 2026. “Enzo brings a combination of personality, method and ambition that meets extremely well with the footballing direction we are looking to take,” Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said. “His philosophy has been built over a rich and varied career, including an outstanding education as a coach, and fits with the vision we have for this next chapter in Leicester City’s history.” Maresca was previously an assistant to Manuel Pellegrini at West Ham and was also coach of Man Cit...
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Manchester City to begin Premier League title defence at Burnley | Football News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Champions Manchester City will begin their title defence with a trip to promoted Burnley on August 11, the Premier League announced on Thursday. City will kick off their bid for a record fourth straight Premier League title against their former captain Vincent Kompany, who is currently managing Burnley. Last season's runners-up Arsenal will host Nottingham Forest in their opener. The final round of matches have been scheduled for May 19, 2024.It will be the second time Kompany, who won the title on four occasions as City skipper, will have faced his old side as a manager, with City winning 6-0 at the Etihad in the FA Cup quarter-finals in March.Pep Guardiola's side, who won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in 2022/23, are seeking to become the first English tea...
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Manchester City starts EPL title defense against Vincent Kompany’s Burnley

Manchester City will begin its latest English Premier League title defense against Burnley, a promoted team managed by City great Vincent Kompany. The opening round of the season also contains a match between two of the league’s so-called “Big Six” as Chelsea — with a new manager on board in Mauricio Pochettino — hosts Liverpool. City’s trip to Turf Moor will start the season on Aug. 11 — and on a Friday night — and it’s laden with narrative because of the presence of Kompany, who spent 11 years (2008-19) at the club and has a statue outside the team’s Etihad Stadium. Kompany, who was City captain for eight years and won four Premier League titles, led Burnley back into the top division in his first season as a manager in English soccer. 📣 #PLFixtures for the 2023/24 season have arrive...
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Belgium name two replacements for injured skipper Kevin De Bruyne

Belgium have named two replacements for captain Kevin De Bruyne, who will miss their European Championship qualifiers against Austria and Estonia after suffering an injury in Saturday’s Champions League final. The 20-year-old pair of Johan Bakayoko and Aster Vranckx have been promoted from the under-21 squad, the Belgian football association said on Monday, for the Group F games against Austria in Brussels on Saturday and away to Estonia on June 20. It is a second call-up for PSV Eindhoven striker Bakayoko but a first for Vranckx, who plays for AC Milan. De Bruyne, who would have captained the team in the Group F encounters, tore his hamstring in Manchester City’s victory over Inter Milan in Istanbul on Saturday. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=functi...
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With treble secured, Pep Guardiola breathes soul into Manchester City’s petrodollars

Last night in Istanbul, quiet and undramatic, the legacy of Pep Guardiola changed its course. Until the night he became the only manager to claim the treble twice, in two different leagues and distinctly different eras too, embellishing the enormity of achievement, his defining image was defined in Barcelona, as the preacher of football’s most radical idea of this century. To burn this image, to surpass the peak he scaled in Barcelona, he needed to produce something more spectacular, something more celestial and immortal. He achieved this by installing an identity to a club that has languished in the lower rungs of top division, their success often measured by surviving the relegation scare, knit an identity and breathed soul into an empire built on petrodollars. City were briefly succe...
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‘They showed the whole world how well they stood up to Manchester City’: Simone Inzaghi proud of Inter Milan after UCL final loss

Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi expressed his pride at what his team had achieved even though they suffered a bitter loss to Manchester City in the Champions League final on Saturday. Inzaghi’s side lost the final 1-0 after a second-half goal from Rodri, but the 47-year-old Inzaghi remained upbeat after a tough season in which he came under heavy pressure before guiding his side to third place in Serie A as well as winning the Italian Cup and Super Cup. “On a night like this, I can’t single players out who played below par. I said yesterday I would not change my players for anyone else, and tonight the world saw why,” Inzaghi told Sky Sports Italia. “They showed the whole world how well they stood up to Manchester City, a side that everyone knows has so much quality. “I hugged my pl...
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‘Champions League is a coin toss, but title was written in stars’: Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola

ISTANBUL: Manchester City’s Champions League final victory over Inter Milan was “written in the stars”, manager Pep Guardiola said after his side secured the treble on Saturday.The 52-year-old Spaniard completed his collection at City as compatriot Rodri fired home the only goal in the 68th minute for a hardfought 1-0 victory against the dogged Italians.Guardiola has now emulated Alex Ferguson, whose Manchester United side also swept to a Premier League/FA Cup/Champions League treble in 1999, and has delivered 12 major trophies for City. Not only that, but he is the first coach to win two trebles, having achieved the Spanish version as Barcelona manager in 2009, winning La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League. Got me a new hat! 🏆🤪 pic.twitter.com/HbT2zfvnYM — Kevin De Bruyne (@Kevin...
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UEFA Champions League Final 2023, Manchester City vs Inter Milan: When and where to watch?

Champions League Final 2023, Manchester City vs Inter Milan Live Streaming: Manchester City will take on Inter Milan in the Champions League final. Pep Guardiola’s team has already won the Premier League title and FA Cup this season and is bidding to win the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history. Inter is the underdog, but has a more storied history in Europe than City, having won the trophy three times previously. It is in its first final since winning the competition in 2010 under Jose Mourinho.Manchester City will emulate Manchester United’s feat from 1999 if it wins the three biggest trophies in one season. Agüero 💙#UCLfinal | @ManCity pic.twitter.com/WlPoIdpIkQ — UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) June 9, 2023 All you need to know ahead of the Manchester ...
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After a pair of pandemic delays, Champions League final finally returns to Istanbul

The last time the Champions League final was in Turkey, the match became known as the “Miracle of Istanbul.” It’s taken nearly two decades to miraculously bring the game back.Istanbul was supposed to host the 2020 Champions League final. It didn’t happen. Then the 2021 final. Also didn’t happen.The coronavirus pandemic upended those plans only weeks before kickoff. Both finals were instead played in Portugal. Finally, though, Istanbul’s time has come again — 18 years after Liverpool somehow overcame AC Milan’s 3-0 first-half lead to win the iconic European Cup trophy on penalties. On Friday, the city was dressed in the indigo-themed “Istanbul 23” flags, and banners on streets, bridges and in metro stations welcomed the Inter Milan and Manchester City teams and fans arriving for Saturday...