The Premier League leaders came out tentatively but turned things around to reach the Champions League semi-final
Ilkay Gundogan admitted that Manchester City “were scared to lose something” early on against Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, before they turned things around in a 2-1 win.
Jude Bellingham scored 15 minutes into the Champions League quarter-final at Signal Iduna Park, putting the home side on course for the semi-final.
But second-half goals from Riyad Mahrez and Phil Foden turned the tie around as City reached the last four through a 4-2 aggregate win.
What was said?
“Today once again we showed character,” Gundogan told BT Sport. “We didn’t play well at all in the first 15 minutes, we struggled and we weren’t brave enough and were scared to lose something. That was obvious.
“After conceding the first goal we were able to get hold of possession and create chances. Our target was to score the first goal of the second half and get the game back into our hands. That’s exactly what we did.
“We know how tough this competition is. In every single game the opponents are so difficult, everyone has quality and this Dortmund team has quality and can beat anyone.
“It was about staying in the game, playing with attitude and personality – especially at this stage of the competition. We proved we were ready to fight for the semi-finals.”
City’s semi-final drought ends
Manchester City have now reached only the second Champions League semi-final in club history and their first since 2015-16.
Pep Guardiola has also failed to reach the last four since 2015-16, when he led Bayern Munich to the semi-finals.
Though it has been five years since he reached this stage, Guardiola has now qualified for his eighth Champions League semi-final, tying Jose Mourinho for the most in the history of the competition.
Man City will face PSG in the last four, while Real Madrid will take on Chelsea in the other semi-final.
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