One leg or two, we need to play well!
THERE seems to be some disagreement within the City squad over how much of an advantage the new Champions League format can be to the Blues’ hopes of winning the tournament.
Due to the three-month suspension of football across Europe, the Champions League is being played in a mini-tournament in Lisbon at the end of all the domestic seasons, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being played as single knockout ties.
That is as opposed to the traditional two-legged format, and City defender Kyle Walker has said he thinks the squad will benefit from having fewer games to consider.
“I think it’s better,” Walker explained. “You can take one at a time.
“I think it’s brilliant because you can focus on one and then the other.”
However, his Blues team-mate Ilkay Gundogan has now suggested the changes could actually work against City, as there is less room for error.
Gundogan explained: “It’s going to be a whole new experience. It’s going to be nearly like a World Cup.
“Playing one leg makes it even more difficult. The amount of mistakes you are able to do is the absolute minimum. There is not really room for mistakes. We should be very careful.
“I think we have proven in the past that we are ready to take on these kinds of games and we will try again. Maybe we will need a bit of luck.”
City have won 25 of their last 27 single-game knockout ties in all competitions, but were defeated in their last game of this nature in the FA Cup semi-final to Arsenal.
Regardless of their form, Gundogan said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“It is going to be very different, but I’m sure it will be exciting, for us, for the other teams, but also for the spectators,” he continued. “At the end someone will win the Champions League and of course we’ll try to do our best to be in that position.
“It is not going to be easy. It will be challenging. But in our sport, we are playing these kind of games to be challenged, so it’s going to be exciting.”