They have been urged by their manager Pep Guardiola to enjoy their continuing warm-weather training camp in Abu Dhabi but make no mistake, Manchester City players have one thing on their mind: following up on their historic 2022/23 with another treble-winning effort this season.
After scooping six prizes at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards on Friday, City have relocated to the UAE capital, where they have been making full use of the spectacular weather and elite accommodations to prepare for the second half of their campaign.
Under sunny skies and with the Arabian Gulf providing a scenic backdrop, City players, including serial goalscorer Erling Haaland, were spotted across the grounds of Emirates Palace on Monday, where they took part in various commercial activities following a closed training session.
This time last year, City were trailing Arsenal by eight points in the Premier League before they rebounded to secure the title and complet a treble – becoming just the second English team to achieve that feat – with triumphs in the Champions League and the FA Cup.
This campaign, City are also playing catch up as they look to cut a five-point deficit to current Premier League leaders Liverpool, albeit with a game in hand.
Since they returned from Saudi Arabia with the Club World Cup trophy last month, City have won all four games they have contested in the domestic league and the FA Cup, and midfielder Phil Foden is well aware of the pressure he and his teammates are under to spark another comeback and usurp Liverpool.
“It shows how far the club has come, now we’re favourites to try to do it again and it just shows the pressure on us. But being the team we are, we always want to try to achieve the best things and why not try and do it again?” Foden told The National.
Rico Lewis had predicted at the start of last season that City would win the treble and the 19-year-old defensive midfielder believes his side are ready for a repeat.
“Obviously, every season is different but I feel the same again,” said Lewis.
“With the players we’ve got, there’s no reason why we don’t aim to try to win everything all over again. It’s not good enough at Manchester City just to win something once and I think we can do it again.”
Summer signing Josko Gvardiol has enjoyed a smooth transition into the City defence since moving from RB Leipzig on a five-year deal last August.
The talented Croatian says he is no stranger to pressure, having been promoted to the first team with Dinamo Zagreb when he was just 18 years old, and feels he shares the same ethos with Guardiola, who adopts a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to complacency, and is constantly demanding more of his squad.
“The real thing is that I’m kind of that guy as well, it’s true. I know how he works, you’re just not happy with whatever you’ve done and you want more,” said Gvardiol.
With expectations on City perhaps at an all-time high, do the players feel they are up for another successful chase in the league?
“I will not tell you the secret,” Gvardiol says with a chuckle. “I said many times the season is long. We are back, of course some injured players, but they are coming back as well, hopefully.
“All I can say is that the league until the end is going to be very interesting and of course we are aiming to win everything.”
One player who has managed to solidify his position in Guardiola's starting XI is Foden, who has started all but six games across competitions this campaign, finding the net on 11 occasions.
“Just working hard on the training field, I think when the manager sees you’re working hard and performing in training you get your reward,” said the 23-year-old England international, who made his City first-team debut at the tender age of 17.
“He’s trusting me now in the midfield and I’m really delighted with it and hopefully I can continue to play there.”
Fellow academy graduate Lewis is hoping he too can lock down a regular spot in Guardiola’s plans but is happy to play any position the Spanish manager feels he is needed.
“Here at City, it’s probably better to be more versatile because of the formations we play and the different positions I can play in and for me at the moment I can get more minutes on the pitch playing in different positions,” said Lewis.
“But at some point I hope to settle into a position and I do like playing midfield the most.”
City return to action on Friday with a fourth-round FA Cup clash at Tottenham Hotspur before hosting Burnley in the Premier League five days later.
FIXTURES
All kick-off times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Friday
Sevilla v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad (7.15pm)
Eibar v Valencia (9.30pm)
Atletico Madrid v Alaves (11.45pm)
Sunday
Girona v Getafe (3pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7.15pm)
Las Palmas v Espanyol (9.30pm)
Barcelona v Deportivo la Coruna (11.45pm)
Monday
Malaga v Real Betis (midnight)
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
MATCH INFO
Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Fixtures and results:
Wed, Aug 29:
- Malaysia bt Hong Kong by 3 wickets
- Oman bt Nepal by 7 wickets
- UAE bt Singapore by 215 runs
Thu, Aug 30: UAE v Nepal; Hong Kong v Singapore; Malaysia v Oman
Sat, Sep 1: UAE v Hong Kong; Oman v Singapore; Malaysia v Nepal
Sun, Sep 2: Hong Kong v Oman; Malaysia v UAE; Nepal v Singapore
Tue, Sep 4: Malaysia v Singapore; UAE v Oman; Nepal v Hong Kong
Thu, Sep 6: Final
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
Huddersfield Town permanent signings:
- Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
- Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
- Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
- Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
- Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
- Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
- Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
- Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela
Edited by Sahm Venter
Published by Liveright
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
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Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20specs%20
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Brief scores:
Toss: Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi, chose to field
Environment Agency: 193-3 (20 ov)
Ikhlaq 76 not out, Khaliya 58, Ahsan 55
Pakhtunkhwa Zalmi: 194-2 (18.3 ov)
Afridi 95 not out, Sajid 55, Rizwan 36 not out
Result: Pakhtunkhwa won by 8 wickets
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
WORLD CUP SQUAD
Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Angelo Mathews, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep
General%20Classification
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ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
%3Cp%3ECreator%3A%20Tima%20Shomali%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%C2%A0Tara%20Abboud%2C%C2%A0Kira%20Yaghnam%2C%20Tara%20Atalla%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Bullet%20Train
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Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
