Riyad Mahrez claims Manchester City can FINALLY win the Champions League this season

A new documentary focusing on Riyad Mahrez was released yesterday by Manchester City and it inevitably tackled the big question: can they finally win the Champions League?

“We are a team built for these special moments,” Mahrez said. ‘We have to win this trophy that everyone wants. We are players who can make the difference at key moments. And I am one of them.

City must hope that he is right. In the absence of talisman Kevin De Bruyne, who stayed home sick along with defender Aymeric Laporte, they need someone else to step up in Saxony on Wednesday. Whether it’s Mahrez, Phil Foden or Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola won’t care.

At first glance, RB Leipzig looked like the slightest draw they faced Premier League teams in the round of 16, but the Germans have lost just once in all competitions since September and are still in the running for the top spot. Bundesliga title, four points behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Their best players, Christian Nkunku and Josko Gvardiol, are courted by Chelsea, and City lost at this stadium last year, a stalemate for which Guardiola selected a strong team.

Group games between the teams yielded 12 goals; Leipzig got five of them, including a Nkunku hat-trick in a 6-3 blockbuster at the Etihad Stadium. They are not lazy.

“Right after the draw I knew it, I felt it, they would be very tough,” Guardiola said. “For many years this club has had its own culture, with young players and their recruitment, with physique and clear game guidelines.

‘With German football, they make transitions that are unstoppable. We have great respect for what this club has done. Last season we won at home but we had problems with Nkunku.”

Such praise for Marco Rose’s team could be seen as playing down expectations, which Guardiola has been in the habit of during his seven years in charge. However, the 52-year-old has reached a point where he now realizes that nothing he says will have that effect when it comes to the perception of this club and his own career.

“I would say if my career ends tomorrow, literally tomorrow, I would be beyond blessed and grateful for what I have done with Barcelona, ​​Bayern Munich and here,” he added. I could never have expected to have the career that I have had in such a short time. Not only because of the success we had, but also because of the way we played, I love it. I could not ask for more.

‘In the end, destiny is already written. Sometimes we’ve been close, sometimes not. I have a feeling that what we have done, all of us, is going to fail. Anything I have personally done in the past or in the future, I am going to fail. nothing will be enough [for critics].

So when I heard about that, just have fun, enjoy being at this press conference, then after a nice dinner with some good wine and watching Real Madrid and Liverpool and a bit of Napoli, prepare well for the game. and come on guys, come on try to do it again.

Without De Bryune, there are decisions to be made. Foden up the middle isn’t a frequently used option, but he excels there, while Julian Alvarez or Ilkay Gundogan are also capable of feeding off Haaland in forward positions.

Guardiola was once again forced to defend his style of play with the 32-goal striker last night, while Rose will face the Norwegian for the first time since managing him at Red Bull Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund.

“His body was different, now you see it and he looks like Thor,” said Rose, who helped Haaland develop his course in Dortmund. “I think his mentality is that if he sees the goal he is going crazy to score, but he always works for the team.” He improved a lot in his game, his technical part and movement. He is now playing for one of the best in the world and becoming a world class player.