Vincent Kompany warned that there may be more nasty surprises waiting for Manchester City in the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola's side have dominated English football over the past five seasons, going on to win a further two Premier League titles in the three years after Kompany left, making it four of the last five. They have never managed to land the Champions League in that time though, suffering three consecutive quarter-final exits before a defeat in the final and a heartbreaking semi-final loss.
Erling Haaland has been seen as a not-so-secret weapon to enable them to finally achieve European success, with the former Dortmund striker leading the goal charts in a competition he loves more than any other after lashing in five against RB Leipzig. Another three at the weekend put paid to Kompany and Burnley's hopes in the FA Cup.
Also read: Man City have finally done what Guardiola wanted after World Cup
As Kompany pointed out though, the Blues have some outstanding achievements in the Premier League during this period and have been good enough to win the Champions League but just haven't been there in moments. Anyone hoping that the form of Haaland means this will finally be City's year has not been paying attention to recent exits.
"It’s not supposed to be straightforward - it’s the Champions League!" he said.
“I think any year under Pep, Man City has been capable of winning it but it’s a knock-out competition - it’s not over 20-30 games, like other competitions.
"So you’ve got to factor in form; everybody saw the Real Madrid semi-final, what happened at the Bernabeu. These kind of things, over the course of a season, you brush them aside but in those moments you’ve got to expect that those top teams are able to produce moments, then it’s maybe not as predictable as people think."
While they will be all too aware of this, City will be encouraged by the matchwinning instincts of Haaland in recent weeks. He shrugged off a poor miss at Crystal Palace to score from the spot in the only goal of the game, then netted five of the first six against RB Leipzig and the first three against Burnley to underline the fact that he can make the difference in any competition.
That incredible haul against RB Leipzig also opens up another record for the Norwegian to chase in the business end of the competition. He now sits on 10 goals for the campaign in the Champions League, putting him in sight of the 17 that Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 2013/14 season with Real Madrid that nobody has beaten since.
The draw last Friday means there is the potential for plenty more City pain in the tournament, with a quarter-final against Guardiola's former employers Bayern Munich before a potential rematch against Real Madrid in the semi-finals should they make it past Chelsea. It will not be straightforward, but City will hope that Haaland can lead them away from the chaos that has previously cost them.
READ NEXT:
