Football

Guardiola says another treble impossible as Premier League resumes

Manager of Manchester City Pep Guardiola has told Manchester City fans not to expect another treble this season as the Premier League champions travel to Turf Moor to face Burnley in the opening Premier League fixture on Friday.

The Citizens won a treble last season by winning the UEFA Champions League beating Inter Milan in the final, beating Arsenal to the Premier League title as well as an FA Cup win against City rivals Manchester United.

Since then, the side has seen some changes, including the exit of Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan to Saudi Arabia and Barcelona, respectively, but they have also managed to bring in midfielder Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea and defender Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig.

Manchester City’s Friday fixture at Turf Moor will see them face a familiar foe in the champions of the championship as they will be led by former player and legend Vincent Kompany who won 8 trophies at Etihad Stadium.

However, overlooking the dynamics of facing a team led by a player he coached, Guardiola reminisced on last season, which he tagged as a once-in-a-lifetime achievement but impossible to replicate this season.

“It is once in a lifetime. It will not be possible to do what we did last season. We climbed the highest mountain last season, but in the last two days, we came down from it, and now we start again. Everyone has the same intention, and there will be a lot of difficulties to climb the mountain as high as possible. Our football, our level, our mentality will dictate how the season will be.” Guardiola said

In other games, Arsenal will start another run for another title with a game against Nottingham Forest at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, while Ange Postecoglu’s Tottenham will face Brentford on Sunday, while Chelsea will face Liverpool on Sunday.

Matchday 1 Fixtures

Friday, 11 August

Burnley v Man City

Saturday, 12 August

Arsenal v Nottingham Forest

Bournemouth v West Ham

Brighton v Luton

Everton v Fulham

Sheffield United v Crystal Palace

Newcastle v Aston Villa

Sunday, 13 August

Brentford v Tottenham (14:00)