Fernandinho claims Manchester City are ready to face the ‘defining moment’ of their season as Pep Guardiola’s side chase an unprecedented Quadruple.
City blitzed Basle 4-0 in Switzerland on Tuesday night to all but guarantee a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The runaway Premier League leaders also face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final in 10 days’ time after taking on Wigan of League One in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
Manchester City’s Fernandinho and his team-mates are battling it out for four trophies
Fernandinho celebrates with Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne during a fine night in Basle
With Fabian Delph, Leroy Sane and David Silva returning from injury in Basle, City are almost back to full strength for the final stage of the season.
Fernandinho insists they will not be distracted by talk of a Quadruple but are prepared to meet the challenge of competing for all four trophies.
‘We can’t deny that our confidence is really high, seeing that we’re getting good results, the way we’ve been playing and scoring,’ said the Brazil midfielder.
‘The team is getting more and more confident and that’s the way to get our goals: go through in Champions League, keep our position in the Premier League and try to get the title as soon as possible, plus our chances in the English cups.
‘We know the defining moments are coming in the next three or four months. But we keep thinking game by game and that’s important. We’re not trying to reach further than is possible. That’s a virtue we’ve got.
‘We have an incredible preparation for each game. The focus is 100 per cent. Probably that’s our uniqueness. We don’t listen to the buzz around us.’ City’s imperious performance against Basle, scoring three times inside the opening 24 minutes, underlined their status as one of the favourites for this season’s Champions League.
They are set to advance beyond the last 16 for only the second time, and Fernandinho says City are determined to compete with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
‘I’ve been here for five years and I’ve shared some painful days in the Champions League,’ he added. ‘So we want to change it. I know the way is hard but we’re working a lot to try to reach the heights of those three clubs.
‘Like I’ve said, game by game. We’ve given a great performance against Basle and we have to make it again at home to think about the quarter-finals.’ Ilkay Gundogan scored twice at St-Jakob Park with Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero adding the others. Kevin De Bruyne also recorded his 19th assist of the season.
Guardiola will be delighted with the form his side are showing domestically and in Europe
Silva paid tribute to City’s latest masterclass as they dominated the Swiss champions on their own ground.
‘I think it was an amazing performance,’ said the Portugal international. ‘To come here and win 4-0 against this team, away from home – it is always so difficult in this competition.
‘When you score it is always good, especially in this competition. I am helping the team and I feel very good about that.’ However, Silva dismissed talk of City being favourites, adding: ‘No. I think teams like Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are more used to playing games in this special competition than us.
‘Even though we are in a good moment and we know we can try to do something, we are not the favourites.’