Sunday 15 April 2018 18:05, UK
Champions League glory must now be the priority as far as Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is concerned, says the Sunday Supplement panel.
City beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday evening to move within touching distance of a third Premier League title - and that was confirmed when Manchester United lost at home to last-placed West Brom on Sunday afternoon.
City might have eased to Premier League glory but last week's Champions League elimination at the hands of Liverpool will still rankle with Guardiola, according to Shaun Custis.
"I do not buy this stuff about the Premier League is the main thing, that it is the important one because that is the hardest one to win," said the Sun's head of sport. "The Champions League is almost like a little bonus.
What City will have wanted from him is a little bit more in the competition the Abu Dhabi top brass want him to win
"It is not really, the Champions League is really what Guardiola has been brought in for. They are 10 years into the project at City, maybe a bit longer, and I feel they are into extra time now about whether they should be winning the Champions League.
"And that has got to be the ultimate for them. They have won the Premier League since the project began, and it is time to win the Champions League.
"It is very, very hard to win. But if you look at what happened to Real Madrid and Barcelona in the week, I think they might be kicking themselves a little bit City. It was possibly there to be won this season."
Guardiola won two Champions Leagues during his time in charge of Barcelona, and the Catalan needs to triumph in Europe's premier club competition in order to secure his legacy at the Etihad, according to Jonathan Liew.
"If you bring in Guardiola, you are almost guaranteeing yourself the league, that is what he does," said the Independent's chief sports writer.
"I think what City's top brass will have wanted from him is a little bit more in the competition the Abu Dhabi top brass want him to win.
"And the fact they won the Premier League at a canter playing the sort of football they have, almost reinventing the game - nobody has come close to winning the Premier League with 65-66 per cent possession - that is a lot of credit in the bank.
"And you cannot say they have had anything other than a spectacularly successful season, but I think Guardiola's third season will seal his legacy.
"And as we know he does not often spend more than three or four seasons at a club, so in what may be his final season, that could be the one that will really define his legacy."
