The UEFA Champion’s League is back; and it seems that nobody at Manchester City has forgotten that fateful day in June where, after historically facing disappointment – City were finally face to face with the elusive trophy.

It’s safe to say that City are looking confident as the reigning Champions of Europe. Fresh off the back of their historic Treble winning season, they’ve immediately established their presence in their group, winning all their Group stage matches so far. The campaign has seen them face Red Star Belgrave, RB Leibzig and BSC Young Boys in the group stages. City’s talisman Rodri saw red in in the Premier League early on this season, which left City with a bad taste in their mouth. The blues went on to lose their next two games without Rodri, who mostly goes unnoticed on the pitch, save for some of the club’s most memorable moments. It’s undeniable that his absence was felt by teammates and fans alike.

Speaking to Luke Stanley of @mcfc.lads, a committed and respected member of the club’s community and fanbase, I thought this would be a good opportunity to hear a fan’s perspective

Rodri’s suspension seemingly caused an upset in the team’s chemistry, with two consecutive losses in the Premier League without him. How critical do you think Rodri is to the team’s success?

Luke: I think Rodri is genuinely equivalent to having two players on the pitch. Playing without him is very difficult, just because of the hole it leaves in the middle of the pitch. In that case, it’s good that Rodri’s suspension only affected EPL fixtures, as he continued to play a major part in City’s Champions League triumphs along with his other crucial members of the squad like Erling Haaland, who’s undoubtedly as clinical as a striker can be and is swiftly becoming a club legend in the eyes of many fans. However, some were doubtful of his output early in the season. I asked Luke what he thought about Haaland’s current record. When it’s put into numbers, it’s hard to argue that he’s anything but one of the most in-form players in world football, even on an off-day.

As of writing this article, Erling Haaland has scored 39 goals in 34 games in the Champion’s League. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record of all-time top scorer with 140 in 183 appearances. Do you think Haaland will continue to break such ambitious scoring records?

Luke: Haaland is a robot, he’s a machine, he continues to defy the norm. I am confident that he will become the UCL all-time top goal scorer. Of course, people were right to stick by Erling, as he scored yet another brace for himself in our second meeting with Young Boys this season, sandwiching Phil Foden’s goal with a routine penalty and a devastating strike. It seems like Haaland’s definitely back to old ways and all we can do is look forward to how the rest of the season will unfold for us, after going unbeaten now in our last 18 games in Europe, the longest winning streak for an English side in Europe ever. Take that United!

City’s hot streak won’t allow the team (or fans) to forget what it took to get here; how even in some of our best Champion’s League campaigns, we’ve experienced defeat late on in the competition, most notably a 1-0 loss in the final of 2020/21 season. Many of our current players experienced that infamous loss to Chelsea in the UCL final two years ago. How much do you think this contributed to ambitions in our players and the manager?

Luke: That game was a learning curve. It’s difficult losing a game of this magnitude, but lessons were learnt, and I feel this experience contributed to last season’s treble.

Luke’s probably right about this, but now that they’ve done it, the Blues must not lose touch with the lessons they’ve learnt and what it will take to achieve such meteoric success again.

And finally, after a treble-winning season, what more can this group of players achieve? Do you think this experience will result in a lack of ambition or a boost in confidence for the club?

Luke: As Kyle Walker said a few weeks back, winning the treble gives you the taste to do it again, I feel the players will be committed to try and replicate this achievement, no matter how difficult it is.

Well, Manchester City have certainly ‘tasted’ achievement. There’s no reason why they can’t repeat it. It’s up to Pep and the boys to continue to etch their names into the annals of Champion’s League history, and football history.