Riyad Mahrez has hinted towards his belief that Manchester City will secure the first Champions League trophy in the club’s history, with the Citizens due to face Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea in the final at the end of May.
Discussing Algeria’s 2019 AFCON victory with L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), the 30-year-old was questioned over whether he felt as confident over another potential trophy win as he did prior to his success with the national team.
“It’s exactly that. These are things that you feel, that don’t explain,” the Algerian said.
“Afterwards, maybe we’ll lose the Champions League final, but I have a lot of confidence in my team, I feel like we can win it.
“In the autumn, when the results weren’t so good, I would say to everyone, ‘We’re going to be champions’.
“I knew we hadn’t had any real summer preparation and that we were going to ramp up. There was a click in our victory against Southampton (1-0, December 19) and then we had 21 straight wins.”
Despite some initial setbacks, Pep Guardiola’s men have recovered with aplomb over the course of the season and are in line to secure a famous double with the Premier League title all but nailed down.
The premier European title has been elusive to the Manchester-based outfit for several campaigns, with the side reaching their first-ever final in the Champions League.
Former Barcelona boss Guardiola will undoubtedly be hoping to end his European trophy drought, having not taken home the prestigious cup since his stint in Catalonia.
Likewise for Chelsea, the end-of-season meeting could allow Tuchel to secure his first major trophy with the Blues, not to mention the club’s second Champions League title since their 2011/12 success.