Yet another defeat to pacy counterattackers raises tantalising questions over Manchester City’s European tie with PSG
And so the quadruple remains out of reach for another season. Perhaps Pep Guardiola is right to banish talk of it: when goals are set so high, even an extraordinary season could feel like failure. And so it lingers, forever on the edge of perception, as the Double did for Liverpool for much of the 70s and 80s, something that feels often in their grasp and yet keeps on eluding them.
For a long time, the Double was rare enough to be an almost mystical quest. Growing up in the 80s, the sides who had achieved it felt vaguely otherworldly, to be spoken of in hushed and reverent tones: Preston 1889, Aston Villa 1897, Tottenham 1961, Arsenal 1971 and then, at last, Liverpool 1986. Then came the Premier League and a redistribution of resources, and suddenly it lost its lustre. There have been seven Doubles in the past three decades, and an inflationary effect that means now only the trebles are truly memorable: Manchester United’s of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in 1999 and Manchester City’s domestic variant of Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in 2019.
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