BLUES WILL CREATE SIEGE MENTALITY

PEP GUARDIOLA has reminded his Manchester City stars of refereeing misfortune in past years to create a siege mentality in the Champions League. City found themselves on the wrong side of tight calls in each of Guardiola’s three seasons in charge as they were dumped out by Monaco, Liverpool, then Tottenham. During team meetings this season, Guardiola has told his players to use the pain of those decisions as fuel. City went out on away goals against Monaco in 2017, with Sergio Aguero cautioned for diving inside the box when he was tripped by the goalkeeper in the 5-3 first-leg victory at the Etihad. Guardiola was sent to the stands a year later after remonstrating with the referee during a quarter-final with Liverpool and blamed decisions against them in both legs for turning the tie.

City lost 5-1 on aggregate. Leroy Sane had a goal wrongly chalked off for offside and Guardiola claimed a Mo Salah strike was wrongly awarded in the first leg at Anfield. Spurs knocked the Premier League champions out on away goals at the quarterfinal stage last year after VAR failed to broadcast the clip showing Fernando Llorente’s handball as he bundled home the decisive goal. Guardiola has complained that ‘nobody has given us anything,’ over the three years and said yesterday: ‘You need luck. Decisions at certain points are important but we cannot control that. ‘We have to have incredible concentration in our plan and be lucky in the things we can’t control. ‘Hopefully it can be fair for both sides — the VAR, the referees.’ Raheem Sterling is fit enough to start against the 13-time European Cup winners tonight.