Kalvin Phillips could end season from hell with TWO European winners’ medals despite disastrous West Ham loan
KALVIN PHILLIPS could end a season to forget with European winners’ medals for Manchester City AND West Ham.
If City retain the Champions League, Phillips qualifies after three cameos and a dead-rubber start.
Kalvin Phillips could end the season with another two European medalsRichard Pelham / The Sun
And two more bit-parts for the Hammers mean the same in the Europa League.
But they might not be pride of place on the mantelpiece.
Phillips, 28, joined the East Londoners in the January transfer window after struggling to make an impact at the Etihad.
Fat-shamed by Pep Guardiola, his game time was limited to just ten appearances in the first half of the season.
That did, though, include four Champions League matches.
Treble-winner Phillips came on in the 83rd minute in the 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade then the 89th minute as City beat Young Boys by the same scoreline.
He got 29 minutes from the bench in the home tie against the Swiss outfit then played the full 90 and scored in the final group game away in Belgrade.
City had already booked their spot in the knockout stages with five wins from five before his late penalty in the 3-2 victory.
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Phillips endured a nightmare start to life at West Ham, gifting a goal away on his debut, seeing red at Nottingham Forest then played his part in the almighty collapse at Newcastle before swearing at a fan.
He has also been dumped out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad ahead of the Euros before being sidelined with a hamstring injury as his season goes from bad to worse.
Karren Brady on West Ham breaking into Big Six
THERE are unofficial guarantees in the future of our league football and they are held by the presumptuously named Big Six, with one or two wealthy others knocking at the door.
You have to believe, don’t you, and I do — that my team could be hammering at the door along with the likes of Aston Villa and another of the liquid-gold clubs, Newcastle United.
However, an elite section is not as it should be in the best possible world.
Despite our ambitions at the London Stadium, the people who run the game must at least try to bring more clubs back into the big-time picture.
Since the rebel rich blithely tried to join a European Super League and were scuppered by their supporters, the game has moved further towards the wealthier and successful clubs.
So now the task should be to try to prevent the cliff edge that is forming, not between the top flight and the Championship, but between the top six in the PL and the rest.
Not an easy thing to do.
Phillips, though, did come on as a late substitute in both legs of the Europa League last-16 tie with Freiburg, a 1-0 defeat away and a 5-0 win at the London Stadium.
And it means this torrid campaign – which so far has yielded just 622 minutes of action across five competitions – could still end with double Euro glory.
West Ham must overturn their first-leg deficit against Bayer Leverkusen before facing AC Milan or Roma in the semis – with Liverpool Atalanta, Benfica or Marseille awaiting in the final.
Meanwhile, reigning kings of Europe Manchester City are the favourites to lift the iconic Champions League trophy once again this season.
Pep Guardiola’s men got a thrilling 3-3 draw away at Real Madrid and will be confident of going through to take on Arsenal or Bayern Munich for a spot in the final.
GettyPhillips scored a penalty in the 3-2 win away at Red Star Belgrade in December[/caption]
GettyThings have not been easy for the midfielder at West Ham[/caption]
