Qualifying for the Champions League would be Manchester City’s Premier League trophy for this season, says Matheus Nunes.
The 26-year-old Portugal international scored his first league goal for City with a late winner against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
With a fascinating race developing to finish in the top five, City’s 2-1 victory lifted them up to third while Villa remain seventh.
Pep Guardiola’s side, though, have endured a lacklustre campaign as their four-year stranglehold on the top-flight trophy will come to an end, while they were also knocked out of the Champions League at the play-off stage.
“This is our Premier League trophy now, to qualify for the Champions League,” said Nunes. “I think it’s massively important for us in terms of the club, the players and the mentality.
“I think we cannot describe how incredible it’s going to be to be in the Champions League, because now we cannot fight for the Premier League trophy so that’s our main aim.”
City’s standards are ‘much higher than this’
City are now strong favourites to extend their run of appearances in Europe’s elite club competition, which would stretch to 15 consecutive years next term.
Their remaining four league games are favourable on paper, against Wolves, Southampton, Bournemouth and Fulham.
Guardiola’s side can end a difficult season on a high by reaching a third straight FA Cup final, should they beat Nottingham Forest in the last four of the competition on Sunday.
City have also had an extensive injury list, meaning midfielder Nunes has been deployed at right-back – a position where he says he is “still adapting” and hopeful of “improving a little more”.
Asked if a top-five place and reaching a cup final would still be a successful season, Nunes replied: “I mean of course not. We know the club’s standards are much higher than this.
“We know that these are 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 Premier League trophy.
“This is a journey, it’s a rollercoaster and you have to be prepared for it and of course they [team-mates] are, and we now have a different aim than we had in the beginning of the season.
“They know better than me how important it is to qualify for the Champions League and that has to be our goal now, and we’re going to go for it.”
Source: BBC