“You’re not. It’s a fact.”
Jamie Carragher has said that Manchester City must win the Champions League if they are to be considered part of European football’s elite.
City exited the Champions League in dramatic circumstances on Wednesday, squandering a two-goal lead in their semi-final against Real Madrid in stoppage time.
On Sunday, they responded with an emphatic 5-0 Premier League win over Newcastle to capitalise on Liverpool’s dropped points against Tottenham.
Carragher on European success
Though the victory keeps them on course to beat Liverpool with three games remaining, Carragher says that City will not be considered as a “big club” until they finally win their first European Cup.
“There’s five big leagues across Europe, so five teams, every year, win those leagues,” he said on Sky Sports. “There’s only one that wins the Champions League.”
Despite Micah Richards’ attempts to make a case for the Premier League being more important, Carragher continued: “You’re not seen as a big club or a giant of a club until you’ve won the Champions League. You’re not. It’s a fact.”
He added: “In terms of Man City’s owners and Pep Guardiola, to put Man City up there, to be one of those super clubs, you’ve got to win the Champions League. You have to.”
🗣 “You’re not, it’s a fact.”
Jamie Carragher says you ARE NOT seen as a big club or a giant of a club until you win the #UCL. pic.twitter.com/BsVQFwW05z
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 8, 2022
‘Work to do,’ says Micah Richards
Micah Richards may have contested the ‘big club’ chat, but did agree Manchester City need a steelier edge in Europe. Speaking on Sky Sports, the 33-year-old said:
“In Europe, Man City have still got work to do. They got to a final, lost to Chelsea, and then they go out to Real Madrid having had a two-goal advantage at the time.
“There’s got to be a bit of nastiness in their game, being able to see out stuff, Man City don’t deal that well with pressure, the Champions League shows you that. But in the league, they’ve been fantastic and today they showed everyone why they are champions.”
City’s win leaves them three points ahead of Liverpool with three games remaining. The five-goal margin also provided a boost to their goal difference, which could be a decisive factor if City lose one of their remaining games and Liverpool win all of theirs.
Jurgen Klopp’s side play next, visiting Aston Villa on Tuesday night, before City return to action at Wolves on Wednesday.
Related links:
- Micah Richards claims Man City need to become ‘nasty’ in order to win Champions League]
- Premier League’s 3-year FFP investigation into Man City ‘reaching final stage’
- Jack Grealish deletes old Madrid tweet after Man City Bernabeu nightmare
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