"You would have to fancy them to finish the job from here" - Former Manchester United star backs Man City to win treble this season
Former Manchester United star John O’Shea has backed Manchester City to do the treble this season.
Having won the Premier League, City could add two more titles in the next eight days. They face Manchester United in the FA Cup on June 3 before taking on Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League final a week later.
Manchester United remain the only English team to have done the continental treble, in 1999. The Irishman believes the Cityzens have what it takes to emulate that achievement this season.
“I’m a United man, so I take no pleasure in seeing City doing so well, but I expect them to do the treble now. They just have so much quality throughout the squad, and it means that when one of their star men has a bad (day), two or three more step up to replace him,” he told Football365.
“Anything could happen against United in the FA Cup final, but you would have to fancy them (City) to finish the job (treble) from here,” he added.
O’Shea praised Pep Guardiola's team for coming through a tough Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid and also beating Arsenal to the league title.
“The Real Madrid semifinal in the Champions League was the game where the treble could have unravelled for City, but they hammered them in the second leg and look to be on their way now. You have to give them credit. They hunted Arsenal down quite comfortably, and now they are looking to add the two cups,” he added.
“He’s a nightmare to deal with” - Former Manchester United star hails Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund last summer and has had a stunning first season in English football. He broke the Premier League record for most goals in a season with 36 strikes and has scored 52 goals (along with nine assists) across competitions.
Haaland was named the Football Writers' Association (FWA) men's footballer of the year and became the first player to win the Premier League player and Young Player of the Year awards in the same season.
The former Manchester United player has called Haaland 'a nightmare to deal with', owing to his peculiar combination of skillsets.
“Haaland is unusual, in as much as he is a tall, powerful striker, and he also has real pace. It’s a combination that is tough to stop. Sometimes you get a big strong striker or a small quick one, but Haaland is matching defenders or getting one over them in every department. He’s a nightmare to deal with,” he said.
“Normally when you can cope with someone physically, you might be a bit quicker than him, but not with Haaland. All I would say about Haaland is a lot of teams have not really tried to come up with a plan to stop him,” he added.
However, ahead of the FA Cup final, O’Shea suggested that Manchester United could take notes from how Real Madrid kept Haaland quiet in the first leg of this year's Champions League semifinals.
“I’m not saying it will work, but I looked at the Real Madrid approach in the first leg of their match against City and they managed to keep him relatively quiet,” he opined.
Haaland drew a blank against Madrid across both legs.