Gab says Blues have learned how to ‘suffer’ in games
GABRIEL Jesus says City have learned how to suffer and that will help them in their bid for Champions League glory.
The Blues striker piled the pain on Real Madrid by robbing Raphael Varane to tee up Raheem Sterling for the first goal and then superbly tucking away the second in a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Friday night.
But the 23-year-old Brazil international believes that City have taken the lessons from previous Champions League flops, and can now cope with the moments in the game when they are under the cosh.
City have gone out three times under Pep Guardiola, losing to Monaco, Liverpool and Tottenham by conceding goals in quick succession when forced onto the back foot.
That has also been a problem in the Premier League this season, a tendency to concede at important points in games.
Jesus thinks the way the Blues controlled the second leg while 2-1 up from the first leg, and restricted the Spanish champions when the game flowed against them is a sign of growing maturity in the team.
“We knew how to suffer. That is very important, knowing how to suffer during the game,” he said.
“There are going to be moments during the game where the opponent is going to press, and we knew how to suffer.
“We know with the ball we are going to create something, we create lots of chances. We didn’t score them, but against big clubs, you need to learn how to suffer too.”
The win puts City into the last eight, kicking off with a quarter-final against Lyon in Lisbon on Saturday.