Pep Guardiola Insists Manchester City Quadruple 'Is Not Going to Happen'

Pep Guardiola rubbished the idea his Manchester City side could win four trophies this season after the Sky Blues scraped through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday by beating Leicester City in a penalty shootout. 

The Spanish manager insisted it was inevitable City would not win one of the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup or UEFA Champions League and said his focus is only on his side's next fixture, per Steve Madeley in The Times:

"That is not going to happen. Of course not. Come on, that isn't real. What we're living isn't real. That is not normal. In football you drop points and you lose competitions. But of course it happens a lot and we will keep going, we will play the semi-finals. I am not thinking about how many titles, I am thinking about the next game."

City lead the Premier League by 11 points from second-placed Manchester United and many have already called the title in their favour, including former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers star Alan Shearer, per BBC Sport.

Their only defeat this season has come in the Champions League, a 2-1 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk on December 6 when City had already confirmed top spot in the group.

However, they required penalties to advance in the Carabao Cup for the second round in succession on Tuesday.

In the fourth round, Guardiola's side were held to a 0-0 draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers over 120 minutes at the Etihad Stadium before the heroics of back-up goalkeeper Claudio Bravo—who saved two penalties in the shootout—saw them through to the last eight.

The Chilean stopper was in fine form again as City ousted Leicester in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The Foxes took the tie to extra time by netting through Jamie Vardy in the seventh minute of stoppage time after Bernardo Silva had put City ahead in the 26th minute at the King Power Stadium.

However, the England forward hit the post in the shootout before Bravo denied Riyad Mahrez to seal the victory for City.

The semi-finals of the Carabao Cup look set to be packed with quality.

Arsenal also advanced on Tuesday after downing West Ham United at home, and they could be joined by Manchester United and Chelsea after Wednesday's fixtures. The Red Devils visit Bristol City and the Blues host Bournemouth. 

It would be no surprise, given how impressive they have been this season, if City were to emerge victorious—even from a final four that included Arsenal, United and Chelsea.

But Guardiola believes something has to give eventually in one of the competitions they are fighting for.

City have been given a favourable draw against FC Basel in the last 16 of the Champions League but will have to get past the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus if they are to triumph in Europe's premier club competition.

Meanwhile, they open their FA Cup account for 2017-18 at home to Burnley on January 6, a match most will expect City to win.