PELLEGRINIS DREAM Manuel Pellegrini hopes Manchester Citys Capital One Cup final victory over Sunderland can inspire his players to complete a historic domestic treble. City won 3-1 at Wembley to give Pellegrini his first trophy in England. They face Wigan in the FA Cup quarter-finals and are also in the thick of a battle for the Premier League title. To win the first trophy is important for us all. For the players, for me and for the staff, said Pellegrini, who replaced Roberto Mancini in the summer. We are the only club with the chance to try to win all the competitions. We are going to try although we know it is not easy. City face Wigan in a repeat of last seasons FA Cup final, which the Latics won 1-0, in the quarter-finals of this years competition at Etihad Stadium next Sunday. They are fourth in the Premier League and six points behind leaders Chelsea, but have two games in hand on Jose Mourinhos team plus Liverpool and Arsenal in second and third respectively. No club has ever won all three domestic trophies in one season, and Pellegrini thinks winning the Capital One Cup will give his side a lot of confidence. They could yet win a quadruple, but must overturn a two-goal deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona at the Nou Camp. Pellegrini said: When you have the chance to win a trophy and you dont, you may not go out with your mind the same way. We have Wigan first. We have respect for them - remember what happened in the FA Cup final - but we are going to try and do it. The Chilean said he tried to keep his players calm after Fabio Borini gave Sunderland a deserved half-time lead, and was rewarded as goals from Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri and Jesus Navas gave City the win. I told them they had 45 minutes to change the score, said Pellegrini. Maybe what happened in the FA Cup final was in their minds in the first half but the most important thing was to calm the players. City captain Vincent Kompany said his team- mates should be hungry for more success. The Belgium international said: Weve achieved something great for the club and we need to carry on. I was delighted to win this trophy at Wembley. Its the best stadium, for me its the best in Europe, maybe even the world, and lifting the trophy here is something special. France international Nasri believes his side could still win the quadruple. We want to win everything, Nasri said. Were going to compete for the league, for the FA Cup, and were going to try and make something happen in the Champions League - its going to be difficult. Ivory Coast midfielder Toure added: We needed to win. It was very important. The final is only one game and you need to enjoy it - but you need to win. hk
Posted on: Mon, 03 Mar 2014 13:58:01 +0000
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