You might love him. You might hate him. But, you simply cannot ignore him. Jose Mourinho loves to play the psychological game – directly or indirectly.
Ahead of Manchester City’s crucial Champions League tie with Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium, Mourinho reckons that City have a high chance of progressing to the next round, as he feels the current Blaugrana side is the “worst” team in many, many years.
Mourinho, the former boss of Real Madrid, bitter rivals of Barcelona, said in an interview with ITV:
“Of course, by history, Barcelona is the favourite, but this Barcelona, this season, is showing that it is not the same in previous years.
“Of course they have Messi, he is special, and they have more than him.
“But I think this is the worst Barcelona of many, many years – so City have a chance.”
Well, Mourinho certainly has seen the might of Barcelona during his stint in Spain, as his rivalry with Pep Guardiola was one of the most talked about topics discussed throughout the Europe. However, he is probably not aware of how the Catalan giants are doing under Tata Martino. For the sake of records, they are top of the La Liga (albeit on goal difference) and are into the final of Spain’s Copa del Rey as well, that too after missing Leo Messi for several months.
Manuel Pellegrini has stoked the fires before City’s Champions League clash with Barcelona, by claiming that City in perspective of this season, are better than Manchester United.
“If we only consider this season, there is just one club in Manchester and it’s ours, but you cannot forget what United have done in the previous years,” the City manager said as quoted by The Times.
“We are aiming to keep growing by winning many trophies — not just national but international trophies. We are fighting for four titles this year. We have to be patient because you cannot change the team from one day to another. We have to keep the philosophy of the style and for that you need time.”
While Manchester United are struggling horribly, with David Moyes enduring a difficult spell in his first season, Pellegrini’s side are aiming for a historic quadruple in his very first season only at the Etihad.
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