Kyle Walker: Manchester City want Champions League glory more than anything else now
Kyle Walker has no doubt the Champions League is now the prize Manchester City want and need the most.
City have won 11 major domestic honours, including four Premier League titles, since ending a 35-year trophy drought in 2011.
The next step is to transfer that success onto the European stage with a 2016 semi-final showing still the furthest the club has gone in a decade of competing.
Right-back Walker said: „I think if you had asked me this two years ago when I signed here, I would have probably said that the Premier League was the big one for me having not won it before.
„Now I have collected two of them and a number of others and this is the one that I want, and I can probably speak on behalf of the whole squad and Manchester City as well for what they need as a club to put them onto that next pedestal.“
The final stages of this year’s competition have been repackaged as a mini-tournament in Portugal as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pep Guardiola’s side continue their latest challenge against Lyon in a one-legged quarter-final at Sporting Lisbon’s Jose Alvalade Stadium on Saturday.
The new format is unfamiliar and will allow less margin for error, but Walker believes it could suit City’s style.
The 30-year-old said: „It is a unique situation that we are in but I feel like we just have to attack it as we attack every game, whether that is in the Premier League, cups or Champions League.
„We feel that our team as a whole and the way that we play and our philosophy is going to stand us in good stead to get us to where we want to be in the tournament, which is the final.“
City confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with victory over 13-time winners Real Madrid in the long-delayed second leg of their last-16 tie last Friday.
Claiming the scalp of the newly-crowned Spanish champions has given City plenty of confidence, but Walker warns Lyon cannot be taken lightly.
The French side took four points off City, including a win at the Etihad Stadium, in last season’s group stage. They also arrive in the Portuguese capital in high spirits themselves after seeing off perennial Serie A winners Juventus.
Walker said: „I think (that) speaks volumes. This year they don’t have the players that they had when we played against them but you need to be a very good team, very disciplined, to beat Juventus over two legs.
„We are just going to use the gameplan, listen to the tactics from the boss and hopefully that will see us over the line.
„I feel it can swing our way in that it is over just the one leg and we can really attack the game and play every game like a final.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
