Could this be the year, at long last, for Manchester City and Pep Guardiola? The evidence is mounting, the latest exhibit from a team hitting form at just the right time unfolding in front of shocked German eyes. And those of the rest of Europe.
It is City’s 12th consecutive season in the Champions League and, under Guardiola in particular, they seem to have found new and increasingly painful ways to fall short of the ultimate prize.
