Both Sergio Aguero and David Silva have spoken to the media ahead of tonight’s fixture, with the duo stating the Blues are on the right path for European success.
We start with our much revered goal scorer who believes past disappointments can aid City in their quest to lift club football’s grandest trophy.
Aguero told Club partner, Nissan: “You learn new things every year and above all you acquire experience, what it really means to play those games in the last sixteen, last eight and obviously in the semi-final.
“Our goal is to reach the final, because the club invested a lot in hiring players, and a new project, with new managers.
“The UEFA Champions League isn’t easy, but we are working. I don’t know whether it will be this year or the next one, but we are working on winning our first title.”
It’s an opinion shared by the man so often the provider for Aguero’s strikes. Silva has allayed any fears that 4-0 defeat in the Camp Nou.
The playmaker informed journalists: “We were playing well, but in the game if you slip and then get a red card, that makes its mark. I believe that until that moment we were playing well.
“I think you have to go step-by-step. But if we correct those issues and we concentrate throughout the games and don’t have any distractions or any errors, I believe that we are going to challenge for everything.”
Away from the City camp and Bleacher Report’s David Mooney has suggested that while the home side need a win if they’re to truly establish themselves in the competition, they should not be disheartened by their most recent defeat against the La Liga giants.
He writes: “If City are to be taken seriously as a powerhouse on the continent, they need to start getting results that send shock waves through the competition.
“Pep Guardiola’s tactics of cutting the supply to Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were working perfectly until the red card, and it was only after that it all went to pieces.
“While it was another in the growing list of “same old story” style performances, the City fans can take great heart from the opening 55 minutes—more than they could in another of their other losses against the elite.”
Finally, author of Pep Guardiola: Another Way of Winning, Guillem Balague, has been exploring the manager’s tactical approach in Manchester, as he adds to his popular biography.
Sky Sports carry an extract from one of his latest additions, which offers an insight into the Catalan’s early philosophy.
“Guardiola was realistic and knew that in the first year the fans would only be able to see a few layers of a true Pep team added - it promised to be, in any case, a tactically rich side, as the training sessions would be full of information and corrections, and the formations would change.
“He’d apply his three basic rules, none of which related to what people know as tiki-taka: they were, rather, intense attack, quick pressure when the ball is lost and having one more player in the midfield than your opponents.”
That’s it for today, but we’ll be back tomorrow to pick through the post-match headlines. Before that, join us throughout the day on the City Matchday App for all the build-up ahead of kick off.
