Ilkay Gundogan spoke about the postponement of Euro 2020 by a year this week, but his message is also relevant for the Champions League.
Ilkay Gundogan said “In a tournament the momentum is very important. If you start a tournament well and maybe are well-prepared and have a good team spirit, sometimes other things don’t really matter. If you had one year more to prepare or not. I think the moment is important and if you are very focused you can do great things. City headed to Madrid on the back of a workmanlike win over West Ham and then an impressive victory at Leicester to forget about an exasperating defeat at Tottenham before their winter break and build momentum for what turned into a memorable night.”
The win over Real Madrid from the first leg will be far more distant than it would have been, and there is little to play for in the remaining Premier League games. Far more likely is that if and when the second leg does get played both teams are relatively cold for it, removing some of the control that Guardiola’s side would have expected going into it.