Hostility outside ground should have fired up City

I DON’T think the ambush on Manchester City’s team coach affected them. If anything, it should have made them more determined. They are all top-class players and have performed in intimidating atmospheres before. David Silva and Vincent Kompany have been involved in plenty of Manchester derbies over the years and they would have passed on their experience to the younger players. We went through a similar thing at Arsenal when Sol Campbell returned to White Hart Lane after his free transfer across north London in 2001. Tottenham fans pelted our bus with stones and bottles and screamed abuse, but it readied us for the game. We realised we were heading into a cauldron, so we knew we had to come out fighting. Sol was absolutely superb that day and we fought for a 1-1 draw in an extremely hostile atmosphere. It sounds strange after winning the first leg 3-0, but Liverpool face a tough test now. Everyone is writing off City before Tuesday’s second leg, but it wasn’t so long ago that some were saying they were the greatest English side we’ve seen in the Premier League era. Liverpool can rank Wednesday’s win alongside the club’s great European nights, but it could lead to one of their worst if they take their eye off the ball next week. An early goal for City will change the whole mood of the stadium, and they can take inspiration from Barcelona’s astonishing comeback against Paris Saint-Germain last season. I really admire Pep Guardiola but City’s manager tried to be too clever at Anfield. On the face of it, adding an extra midfielder for a match away from home makes sense, but Ilkay Gundogan did not offer anything. He was stranded on the right side of midfield and Liverpool’s players breezed past him. City did not need to change anything. Not only did Gundogan’s inclusion harm their control of the game, but it reduced Leroy Sane’s effectiveness. Without Raheem Sterling on the opposite side of the field, Sane was isolated and shut down by a superb performance from Trent Alexander-Arnold. Liverpool were brilliant, but Guardiola was a victim of overthinking his line-up.