Jérémy Doku believes lifting the Carabao Cup could help Manchester City move on from their recent Champions League disappointment.
City were knocked out of Europe by Real Madrid for the third consecutive year, suffering a heavy 5-1 aggregate defeat in the round of 16.
With little time to dwell on the loss, Pep Guardiola’s side are now focused on their next challenge a trip to Wembley to face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.
Doku is confident that winning silverware this weekend would help the team quickly put the setback behind them.
“It would be a good cure,” he said. “We’ll do everything we can to win that game and lift the trophy. The next few matches are very important, so we have to recover well and take it one game at a time.”
The winger also pointed out that City still have plenty to fight for this season. After the Carabao Cup final, they face a busy run of fixtures, including an FA Cup quarterfinal against Liverpool and key Premier League clashes with Chelsea and Arsenal.
“There’s still a lot at stake,” Doku added. “We’re competing in three competitions and still have trophies to win. If we can achieve that, it will still be a great season.”
Although the Champions League exit was a major disappointment, Doku said there are lessons to take from the defeat to Real Madrid.
City followed up a 3-0 loss in Spain with a 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium in the second leg, where the turning point came after Bernardo Silva was sent off early in the game.
Despite playing with 10 men, Doku believes the team showed resilience and quality against a top side.
“We can be proud of our performance,” he said. “To play against a team like that with 10 men and still cause them problems is not easy. We created chances and competed well.
“Even though we didn’t win, we can hold our heads high. If we keep playing like that, we’ll make things difficult for any team.”
City will now look to channel that performance into a strong finish to the season, starting with their shot at silverware this weekend.
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