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Former Liverpool striker John Aldridge has taken a dig at Manchester City's lack of pedigree in the UEFA Champions League.
Pep Guardiola's side returned to the top of the Premier League table with a 5-0 victory over Newcastle United at home on Sunday. They now enjoy a three-point lead over second-placed Liverpool with three games left to play.
The Reds now require Manchester City to lose at least one of their remaining three matches to win the league. Guardiola and Co are thus edging closer to clinching the title, but might have to see their rivals lift the Champions League this term.
Manchester City bowed out of the Champions League semifinals in astonishing fashion as they lost 6-5 on aggregate to Real Madrid last week. Liverpool, on the other hand, progressed into the final with a win against Villarreal.
Aldridge has now claimed that Guardiola and Co cannot take the heat in the Champions League. The former Liverpool star also insisted that the Citizens are 'bottlers' in the competition. In his Sunday World column, he wrote:
"I’ve said, time and again, over the last few years that Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City are bottlers in the Champions League and they proved me right in embarrassingly graphic fashion on Wednesday night."
He further noted:
"Only they can explain how they lost a tie they were winning 5-3 heading into injury-time, but then we’ve seen it before from them. Harsh thought this sounds, they simply can’t take the heat in the Champions League."
Aldridge is of the view that Liverpool would have been too much for Manchester City psychologically had they progressed into the Champions League final. He wrote:
"To be honest, part of me was disappointed to see City implode against Real Madrid in the semi-final, as I thought Liverpool would have too much for them psychologically in the final in Paris."
Jurgen Klopp's side will take on Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris on 28 May.
Manchester City bottle Champions League lead as Liverpool book ticket to Paris
The Citizens beat Real Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie at the Etihad Stadium. They then looked to be on course to progress into the final after opening the scoring at the Bernabeu in the second leg last week.
However, two late goals from Rodrygo saw Real Madrid go level on aggregate and take the game into extra-time. A 95th-minute penalty from Karim Benzema then sealed the tie for Los Blancos.
The Reds, on the other hand, beat Villarreal 5-2 on aggregate to progress into the Champions League final. They will now look to win the competition for the second time under Klopp's management.
