City came from behind to win 3-2 at Schalke in the first leg of our last-16 Champions League tie, a result that puts us in a good position ahead of the return game in three weeks’ time.
Leroy Sane was singled out for praise after he came off the bench to score pone of the most memorable free-kicks in Champions League history and inspire City’s comeback.
BT Sport pundit and former Manchester United and England defender Rio Ferdinand described the German as “poetry in motion”.
“He’s [Sane] too good – he’s a beautiful footballer, poetry in motion,” he said.
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“He’s a fantastic player. He’s so smooth, silky in the way he plays.
“He made a little nutmeg in the game and we were sitting here giggling.
“But he’s got the end product, he’s a killer in that sense of the game.”
And former City defender Joleon Lescott said elements of Sane’s game remind him of the great Thierry Henry.
“He’s got that Thierry Henry kind of feel. I thought it was a bit strange to take off [Sergio] Aguero when you’re behind, but Pep Guardiola knew what he was doing.”
The Telegraph’s JJ Bull says Sane’s free-kick was “technically-perfect” and believes City are now in pole position to make it to the quarter-finals.
“There was polite applause when Leroy Sane, a product of Schalke’s academy, a favourite son, finally came on with the only question being why did he not start?” he writes. “Soon after Sane did not celebrate his superb, curling, technically-perfect free-kick that dipped and hit the net from more than 25 yards out. But City did. And how they celebrated again when, in the 90th minute, Raheem Sterling deftly brought down Ederson’s long flighted ball forward as defender Bastian Oczipa fell over. The winger quickly fired home an angled shot to win it before tearing away in glee.
“A win and three away goals means that City are almost certainly through to the last eight and they will surely have far too much for Schalke at the Etihad Stadium even without Fernandinho.”
And, finally, Sky Sports have sought the opinion of a number of experts in a fascinating piece on the psychology of a title race.
And in it, Bradley Busch, a sports psychologist for Inner Drive, outlines what he feels players and management staff can do to ensure a squad remain focused on winning.
“A sport psychologist can help the team focus during a title race by focusing on what matters,” he says. “One of the things that the brain craves is a sense of control and certainty. However, as the pressure magnifies with each game, the temptation to focus on a bad performance rises.
“By focusing on aspects such as their preparation and how well they execute their game plan, players will increase their feelings of certainty and control over the situation. This leads to better confidence, more emotional control and higher performances on the pitch.”
That’s all for today’s Media Watch – but stay with us throughout the day as we bring you all the reaction from last night’s game and start the buildup to this weekend’s Carabao Cup final.
