LONDON – Kevin De Bruyne says Manchester City want to reassert their superiority by winning all four major trophies this season.
City finished last season with a whimper as they ended 18 points behind Premier League champions Liverpool and suffered a shock Champions League quarter-final defeat against Lyon.
They were also beaten in the FA Cup semi-finals by Arsenal with the League Cup final win against Aston Villa a rare highlight for Pep Guardiola’s side.
But City is determined to make amends this term and Belgian midfielder De Bruyne insists fresh goals have been set, including a clean sweep of the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
“I think the motivation doesn’t change if you win or you lose,” De Bruyne said after City’s 3-1 win at Wolves on Monday.
“When you start a new season there are new aspirations, you want to win the most as possible and we want to win everything.”
“For us, all four (trophies) is in the mind, that’s the mentality. It is obviously very hard but we went into Monday knowing that it was going to be a very hard game.”
“We didn’t train a lot but I think the performance was really good and that’s good for us.”
City is back in action on Thursday when they host Bournemouth in the League Cup third round.
That is followed by the visit of Leicester in the Premier League on Sunday and De Bruyne admits it is a hectic start to the season.
“We knew when we saw the schedule when we started, that it is tough, but we always go,” he said.
“We play game by game and the best team that is ready to play on Thursday will try and win the game.”
City will need an improved defence to overhaul Liverpool after some sloppy displays at the back last season.
De Bruyne felt Netherlands defender Nathan Ake acquitted himself well on his City debut against Wolves after joining from Bournemouth.
“I think he is doing really well. It is really hard for a player to come in and not really have a pre-season and settle in with the guys because there is a lot of stuff you need to do,” De Bruyne said.
“But he played a brilliant game, together with John (Stones), and I think it is really important for them to start really well, and you see that when they have a lot of confidence, they can be very important players.” – AFP, September 23, 2020
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