Back in August, Pep Guardiola was in fine form as he looked ahead to the new season. The Manchester City manager had already consigned his team’s fabulous domestic treble to the dustbin of history – he has never been one to dwell on success, or rest on laurels.
But as the Blues prepared for the traditional curtain-raiser, the Community Shield at Wembley, he held his usual pre-match press conference, in which the prospects for the campaign ahead were the main topic of conversation.
Obviously no-one foresaw Liverpool’s relentless league form, or the horror of the Covid-19 outbreak which would make football irrelevant.
So it is interesting to see how well Guardiola’s comments have aged. The fact that the Champions League remains the one prize