Crackling City eye challenge of chasing 4 titles

MELBOURNE
Manuel Pellegrini challenged his Manchester City stars to set their sights on a quadruple after they swept into the League Cup final in emphatic fashion.

Pellegrini’s side showed no mercy as two goals from Alvaro Negredo and a Sergio Aguero strike crushed West Ham 3-0 in the League Cup semi-final second leg at Upton Park on Tuesday.

The ruthless display in east London sealed a 9-0 aggregate triumph that was the largest semi-final margin of victory in the history of the competition.

City can now look forward to a Wembley showdown against Manchester United or Sunderland on March 2, which gives Pellegrini a chance to secure the first trophy since he arrived as Roberto Mancini’s replacement in the close-season.

The League Cup remains very much fourth priority on Pellegrini’s to-do list, however, the Chilean believes success in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup is also still a distinct possibility if City can maintain their current free-scoring form.

“I’m very proud of the team. We arrived in the final winning the five games with 19 goals scored, with just one goal conceded,” Pellegrini said.

“Always a final at Wembley is a very important final and I’m very proud of the team that we are still in four competitions..... we are thinking about winning every match.”

City are now unbeaten in their last 18 matches in all competitions, and with their forward line functioning as well as any in Europe, a clean sweep of the four trophies can’t be ruled out.

Aguero is already back in top form after recovering from a calf injury suffered in December, while Negredo, Navas and even teenage winger Marcos Lopes, who impressed on a rare start against West Ham, add guile and grace to the City attack.

Pellegrini won’t let his players get too carried away just yet though.