Gundogan: City must embrace the struggle in Europe

Hmidfielder says team have not coped well with setbacks in past htask against Dortmund is helped by lack of ‘Yellow Wall’

For a team synonymous with calmness and control, it has been rather curious to see Manchester City unravel so quickly in testing moments in Champions League knockout-stage matches in recent years.

City are attempting to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time under Pep Guardiola tonight, when they face Borussia Dortmund in Germany sporting a 2-1 lead from the first leg of their quarter-final at the Etihad Stadium last week.

After bowing out at this stage in the past three seasons, when defeats by Liverpool, Tottenham and Lyon were all marred by individual errors and a collective loss of composure, Dortmund will hope City push the self-destruct button again.

It would certainly be interesting to see how City cope should they fall behind, just as it was intriguing to listen to Ilkay Gundogan explain yesterday why a side closing in on a third Premier League title in four seasons have so often struggled in the face of setbacks in Europe.

“We need to learn that it is normal to struggle,” the City midfielder said. “In that stage, playing against the best teams in Europe, it is normal. Everyone has quality and it is also normal when you concede.

“Maybe it is something we are not used to – going behind and conceding or struggling – because we are used to dominating games always, but it is completely normal in the Champions League.

“Mistakes are normal so learning to deal with it is the only thing that was missing a little bit, especially I think when you speak about that Tottenham game [in 2019], not just in the second leg when we won the game 4-3, but in the first leg [when they lost 1-0 and missed a penalty].

“I felt like we conceded a goal that was unnecessary, but also dealing with the whole situation. We conceded a goal, but still had [12] minutes to play at that time, so dealing with that situation is something we might need to learn still. These stages will show it now, but it is something we need to accept.”

In that regard, Gundogan believes Saturday’s surprise 2-1 defeat by Leeds United may be no bad thing if it helps to focus minds. “Yeah, maybe it was a warning or a signal for us,” he said.

Dortmund will certainly be a test of City’s mettle, even if part of Gundogan is glad they will not be playing in front of a packed Westfalenstadion.

As a former Dortmund player, he knows full well the impact the famous Yellow Wall can have on such nights so that is one obstacle City will not have to worry about.

Erling Haaland, the prolific Norway striker whom City hope to sign as Sergio Aguero’s replacement this summer, will still be leading the line for Dortmund, though and, fans or no fans, Gundogan admits they can ill afford a repeat of the individual blunders that have proved so costly before. Yet the midfielder feels there is a far greater defensive solidity to City this time around.

“We should have been there [the semi-finals] earlier, but we were lacking something,” Gundogan said. “People sometimes unnecessarily made individual mistakes that led to goals and then obviously it is tough.

“I remember the Tottenham game we played at home, we conceded three. Liverpool at home we conceded two. When you concede this amount of goals in your home stadium, it is obviously not easy.

“But I feel like we are much more stable at the moment in the season, especially defensively. The more you proceed in this competition, the more important that gets. Obviously it gives you a safe feeling when you know your defensive line is working great, combined with the feeling that we are always able to score.

“Knowing that there is no crowd feels like it’s a bit of a disadvantage for Borussia Dortmund because I played there five years and I know how incredible the crowd and support is and how loud it can be.”

(probable, 4-3-3) Hitz; Morey, Akanji, Hummels, Guerriro; Dahoud, Can, Bellingham; Reus, Haaland, Hazard.

(probable, 4-1-4-1) Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Rodri; Mahrez, Gundogan, Bernardo, Foden; De Bruyne.

Carlos del Cerro Grande (Spain).