LONDON: Matheus Nunes says Champions League qualification would be Manchester City’s “Premier League trophy” after a poor campaign by their stellar standards.
The Portugal international scored a last-gasp winner against Aston Villa on Tuesday to lift Pep Guardiola’s men to third in the table, four points ahead of seventh-placed Villa.
With Liverpool on the brink of the Premier League title and Arsenal sitting comfortably in second place, five clubs are battling for the three remaining places in Europe’s top club competition next season.
Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea are the other sides in the mix for a top-five finish.
City, who were hunting a fifth straight league title at the start of the season, suffered a costly collapse in form from late October.
But they can still end their season on a high, with Sunday’s FA Cup semifinal against Forest at Wembley coming hot on the heels of their vital win against Unai Emery’s Villa.
“This is our Premier League trophy now, to qualify for the Champions League,” Nunes said after scoring his first league goal for City in his second season at the club.
“I think it’s massively important for us, in terms of everything, the club, in terms of the players, the mentality.”
The 26-year-old admitted though that Champions League qualification for the 15th season running and FA Cup glory would not equal a good campaign.
“The club’s standards are much higher than this,” he said. “We know that there is not the standards we want this club to be at.
“But this is our reality now and we have to accept it. And we just have to go for it like it’s the Champions League, the Premier League trophy.”
Champions League spot would be ‘Premier League trophy’ for Man City: Nunes
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Champions League spot would be ‘Premier League trophy’ for Man City: Nunes
- The Portugal international scored a last-gasp winner against Aston Villa on Tuesday
- Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea are the other sides in the mix for a top-five finish
Man Utd financial results show profit increase after job cuts
- United generated an operating profit of $44m in the first six months of the fiscal year
- “We are now seeing the positive financial impact of our off-pitch transformation materialize both in our costs and profitability,” Berrada said
LONDON: Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada highlighted the “positive financial impact of our off-pitch transformation” after the club recorded a profit increase following their recent job cuts.
United generated an operating profit of £32.6 million ($44 million) in the first six months of the fiscal year, compared with a £3.9 million loss for the same period last year.
The operating profit for the most recent quarter, over the last three months, was £19.6 million, compared to £3.1 million in the same period last year.
Those numbers come after United minority owner Jim Ratcliffe, who heads the club’s football operation, oversaw a redundancy and restructuring program that saw around 450 jobs cut.
In announcing their latest figures on Wednesday, United said they had seen “the positive impact of operating cost and headcount reduction programs implemented in the prior year.”
United’s total revenues for the second quarter of the financial year were £190.3 million, down from £198.7 million for the equivalent period the previous year.
Commercial revenue dropped from £85.1 million to £78.5 million and match-day revenues down from £52 million to £49.5 million.
The fall in total revenues can be linked to United’s failure to qualify for the Champions League or Europa League last season, denying them the income from European matches this season.
But with United up to fourth place in the Premier League this term under interim boss Michael Carrick, and the women’s team through to the Champions League quarter-finals, the club believe they are well placed for a further rise in profits.
United say they remain on track to record revenues of between £640 million and £660 million for the full fiscal year.
“We are now seeing the positive financial impact of our off-pitch transformation materialize both in our costs and profitability,” Berrada said.
“Today’s results demonstrate the underlying strength of our business as we continue to push for the best football results possible for our men’s and women’s teams.”
