Aymeric Laporte says treble-chasing Manchester City ‘deserve many things’
By Carl Markham, PA
Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte is hopeful of their treble chances as he believes Pep Guardiola’s side “deserve many things”.
If City beat Real Madrid on Wednesday they will be in their second Champions League final in three seasons, and that will quickly be followed by the chance to lift a fifth Premier League title in six years on Sunday with a victory over Chelsea.
A first all-Manchester FA Cup final awaits on June 3 and, after a key weekend in which Arsenal’s 3-0 defeat at home to Brighton gave City the opportunity to win the Premier League at home with two matches to spare, Laporte admits the focus is narrowing.
“It’s massive for us and important for the season,” he said of the 3-0 win over Everton on Sunday which set up next weekend’s potential celebration at the Etihad Stadium.
“We deserve many things. Hopefully we can get the treble, but we have to be focused in every single game, do what we have done in the last few weeks even more.”
A key figure in recent matches has been midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who scored twice for the second successive game while also providing an assist for Erling Haaland in the win at Everton.
Guardiola has praised his captaincy skills, admitting the German does not say a lot but when he does his team-mates listen with the 32-year-old, who is out of contract in the summer, preferring to lead by example.
It is why Gundogan is probably the most grounded of the treble-chasing squad as, when asked what is required from them for the rest of the season, he said: “To keep the group calm and not get too over-excited.
“It’s a game every three or four days so there’s not a lot of time to recover so we have to try to make the most out of it.
“We know in the final stages of the season we need every single player. It doesn’t matter who’s playing, it’s about the group and the support for each other.
“If we can keep the spirits in that way, it can be an amazing end to the season for us.”
