DE BRUYNE: ONLY A FINAL WIN WILL DO
TONIGHT, 8PM, BT SPORT
KEVIN DE BRUYNE has admitted Manchester City must win the Champions League to silence their critics once and for all.
Despite amassing Premier League titles, League Cups and FA Cups over the past decade, City have yet to go all the way in the Champions League.
They came agonisingly close last season, losing 1-0 to Chelsea in the final, with De Bruyne forced off with a double facial fracture after a clash with Antonio Rudiger.
Ahead of tonight’s semifinal second leg at Real Madrid, in which City hold a 4-3 lead, De Bruyne admitted there will always be a question mark against Pep Guardiola’s side until they conquer Europe.
But the 30-year-old backed his team-mates to deliver in the Bernabeu tonight and reach the final.
He said: “It would change the perspective from outside.
“As a player you want to win trophies and we want to win this one.
“The fact we’ve been fighting for numerous years and getting to the latter stages means we’ve been doing really well.
“The quality is very high so it’s very difficult to win it but, in the end, if you look back at the way we’ve performed we’ve done really well.
“We’ve not won it but winning it would change that little narrative. We’ve not won it yet and that will probably be the only criticism we can get.
“We just need to try to get over the line and this is another step.”
De Bruyne also praised team-mate Phil Foden’s fantastic form.
He said: “He’s not a young talent anymore, he’s one of the guys.
It’s a big step to make but now everybody looks at him to make a difference because he can.”
Meanwhile Luka Modric insists Real Madrid must show they are the best team in the world if they are to win tonight.
He said: “The mood in the squad is good and we’re excited to play. We know what we have to do.
“We know it’s going to be the most important game this season. We know we’ll have to put on the best performance of the year”
He added: “We have to show them we’re Real Madrid, show everyone we’re the best team in the world.”