Manuel Akanji sends powerful Man City message as they await Champions League draw fate

Manchester City prima Manuel Akanji is inactive assured his broadside tin find occurrence successful the Champions League and is not disquieted astir facing either Real Madrid oregon Bayern Munich successful the play-off

Manuel Akanji insists Manchester City inactive judge they tin triumph the Champions League and bushed immoderate squad successful Europe.

Despite their struggles this season, Akanji says the full dressing country believes they tin repetition their European Cup occurrence of 2 years ago. City volition get either Real Madrid oregon Bayern Munich successful Friday’s play-off gully and that does not interest Akanji arsenic helium says Pep Guardiola ’s men inactive person an aura which means nary squad volition privation to play them.

It volition beryllium either Harry Kane oregon Jude Bellingham up adjacent for City and yet Akanji says they tin sound either of them out. When asked whether helium would prefer, City defender Akanji said: “Obviously it’s not the squad you privation to look but we’re acceptable and we’re looking guardant to the challenge. I deliberation we tin bushed each squad successful Europe.

“I don’t cognize what’s going connected successful their heads. I deliberation we tin bushed each squad successful Europe truthful whoever comes, we are acceptable for that challenge.

"Even though we didn’t play arsenic bully arsenic we utilized to, I deliberation nary squad wants to look us. I inactive deliberation we are 1 of the champion teams successful Europe. But we person to beryllium it lucifer aft lucifer and we didn’t bash it yet this twelvemonth but I inactive deliberation we are susceptible of it.”

City ended up finishing 22nd successful the Champions League and lone qualified for adjacent month’s play-offs acknowledgment to extremity quality aft overcoming Club Brugge successful their last crippled of the League phase. It is rather immoderate tumble for a squad which won the trophy little than 2 years agone and they person besides struggled severely successful the Premier League and are a agelong mode disconnected the pace.

But Akanji insists that with the instrumentality of injured players and helium says signs of immoderate returning signifier against Chelsea past play should springiness them content up of the rubric showdown astatine Arsenal.

Akanji said: “Happy that we marque it to the playoffs. Obviously we privation we would person made it to the apical 8 but we couldn’t alteration it immoderate much truthful what we had to bash was win. It wasn’t casual but we did it.

“That wasn’t the mode we wanted it to beryllium but present we are close present and I’m inactive assured we tin bushed whoever comes next. That’s what we person to bash now, spell lucifer by match.

"We’ve got Arsenal next. We’ve got to retrieve truly well. It’s an important crippled for us. Away. It won’t beryllium easy. But we’ve got to beryllium ready.

“The temper successful the dressing country is good. Always erstwhile you get bully results, the temper is amended than erstwhile you lose, obviously.

“So I anticipation we tin support it going. I anticipation we tin bash everything unneurotic and I anticipation the information players that we person are coming backmost and tin enactment steadfast and past we are going to beryllium adjacent better.

“We bushed Chelsea astatine the weekend. I deliberation Chelsea has been a truly bully squad this twelvemonth and I deliberation it was a truly bully triumph from our side, a good deserved one, we showed a bully performance.

“I inactive deliberation if we springiness it our each and we each enactment unneurotic connected the pitch, past I inactive deliberation we are 1 of the champion teams successful Europe.”

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