Gundogan - Pep is the key vs Barca

Alam Khan - Reporter 01:25 18/10/2016
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  • Key Man: Pep Guardiola

    Ilkay Gundogan believes Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola will be their key man as they bid to topple Barcelona in their crunch Champions League clash.

    Wednesday’s eagerly-awaited meeting at the Camp Nou will see Guardiola return to the club where he gained glorious success as a player, captain and then during a four-year reign as coach where he shaped them into football’s best side.

    That experience and insight could prove invaluable to City as they bid for a first win over the Spanish champions after losing all four of their previous Champions League ties.

    “It’s a big plus for us because he knows them,” said midfielder Gundogan.

    “He knows the team, the club, the stadium and he knows Lionel Messi. He also knows the Barcelona way, the Catalan way so he knows everything and he will give us some information that other managers can’t give.

    “This is important, definitely. He knows how they play, and how they will want to play. At the end, though, it’s down to our players to do that on the field and carry out what he wants us to do.

    “I think this will be the biggest challenge, yes. They will definitely be the best team we will have faced so far. I haven’t played against them before, but we all know that they have world-class players and maybe the world’s best player in Lionel Messi.

    “Away, it will be especially tough, a challenge, but I can say we are definitely not scared. We are curious and want to have this experience and want to play in this stadium against this team.”

    City know they need to rise to the occasion and get back to winning ways after a blip in fortunes. Having won their first 10 games in succession, they surprisingly drew at Celtic in the Champions League, and then lost to Tottenham in the Premier League before drawing at home to Everton on Saturday.

    But Gundogan added, “We don’t worry, no. I think we played a good game against Everton. It’s just the score, the draw that was not good for us. But I am convinced we played a really good game against a really good team, a tough opponent with good players and if you see how we played against them and how dominant we were, it’s a big plus for us.

    “We missed two penalties in the game and we know what we are able to do and we can achieve even more if we do that. That’s our next target.”

    Gundogan knows City cannot afford to be as wasteful up front or slack defensively against Barcelona, who will boast not only the fit-again Messi, but Luis Suarez and Neymar in their attack.

    The German reached the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund in 2013, losing to Bayern Munich, and recalls how his former club were ruthless in beating Real Madrid 4-1 in their semi-final first-leg tie.

    “It’s about taking your chances, definitely, in the Champions League,” he said.

    “Especially when you play away, you need to have this confidence, this flow and have the courage to play your own game. You can’t afford to make mistakes either because teams like this will punish you. But it’s an experience for us all.

    “After the game we will know where we are at this moment and maybe more than against the other opponents we have played so far. It’s a big challenge, but we are ready.”

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