Pep Guardiola will draw on the advice of his mentor Johan Cruyff as he urges his players to enjoy the pressure and emulate the sporting greats when Manchester City play just their second Champions League semi-final.
City face Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday with Guardiola, who has reached the last four in seven previous seasons as manager of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, saying he always feels more calm on this stage.
And he made reference to Barcelona’s first European Cup victory when he was a 21-year-old midfielder and Cruyff, who had inspired Ajax to win the competition three times in the 1970s, addressed his players.
He said: “The mythical sentence to go to Wembley and play our first final in 1992 against Sampdoria is to go out and enjoy it. I learn from Cruyff that when you arrive at this stage all you do is enjoy the game, the pressure, the stage.
"I’ll tell them to enjoy the travel, the moment, the coffee in the terminal, the night and the dinner watching the other semi; enjoy the press conference, the walk, the training. You take responsibility. That’s why the greatest win these competitions in all sports.
“We are privileged to be one of the best four teams in Europe and we must enjoy it. We know how tough it is to be here. Cruyff’s idea was like this. When we arrive it’s not a reason to be worried, or sad or worrying about what happens if we lose.
"Always it happens in my career, when I arrive in the semi-final, I was always calmer than in other competitions. I don’t know why but I have the sense of work well done.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to be there. For Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, for all the teams that have many Champions Leagues in their cabinet, it’s normality. We were looking for many years to be here and it’s incredible: something new.”
Only Kevin de Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero remain from City’s previous Champions League semi-final, when they lost to Real Madrid in 2016, but Guardiola urged his side not to be intimidated.
City 2 Dortmund 1: player ratings
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MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS. Ederson - 6, Bravely stopped Reus, but was incredibly lucky to hear the whistle after he was tackled by Jude Bellingham. Did well to keep Erling Haaland out after he’d got past Ruben Dias. EPA -
Kyle Walker - 6, Was so dominant in a lot of his defensive play, but Marco Reus managed to get away from him for the equaliser. Reuters -
John Stones - 7, Dominant in his aerial duels and looked comfortable for large periods, whether he was on the ball or dealing with attacks. Haaland got the ball past him for the equaliser. AFP -
Ruben Dias - 6, Did well to get the ball away from Haaland when the Norwegian threatened to cause a problem but was overpowered by him another time. There were a few moments where it seemed the centre-back may give the ball away in a dangerous area. Reuters -
Joao Cancelo - 6, There were some sloppy moments from the full-back early on, but he fixed any problems and provided some great passes. Reuters -
Rodri - 5, Got away with giving the ball away in a dangerous area but felt that he should have had a penalty – though the initial call was overturned by VAR. His touch was a bit off, as the ball rolled away from him more times than would be expected. EPA -
Ilkay Gundogan - 8, Brought out some wonderful touches and showed brilliant composure to set up Phil Foden for the winner. AFP -
Riyad Mahrez - 7, Was smart in his play to set up Kevin De Bruyne rather than shooting for the opener, though he could have done better with his effort towards the end of the first half. Reuters -
Kevin De Bruyne - 9, Showed good movement and finished convincingly to score the opener, while his usual quality could be seen throughout the proceedings. Put in a wonderful ball for the winner. Reuters -
Phil Foden - 9, Was lively throughout and tore Mateu Morey to shreds. Played a nice pass across the box for the opener. Will have thought he’d come away from this game without a goal but tucked the ball away right near the end. Reuters -
Bernardo Silva - 7, Provided some great touches and there were periods where he controlled the pace of the game well. Reuters -
SUB: Gabriel Jesus (Silva 59’) - 6, Helped to stretch the away side’s defence at times but couldn’t get into positions where he threatened the goal. EPA -
BORUSSIA DORTMUND RATINGS. Marwin Hitz - 6, Had no chance for the goals but made some decent saves, the best of which came to deny Foden. Reuters -
Mateu Morey - 5, Gave himself no chance of helping out defensively for the opener due to his positioning. Struggled to deal with Foden all night and got away with it when his attempted clearance spun back to the goalkeeper. EPA -
Manuel Akanji - 7, Had some eye-catching moments on the ball and often looked strong defensively. Reuters -
Mats Hummels - 7, Misplaced a few of his passes but showed his defensive quality, making interventions and tackles at key times. Reuters -
Raphael Guerreiro - 6, Couldn’t get involved as much as he probably would have liked in an attacking sense, but held his own defensively. Reuters -
Jude Bellingham - 8, Felt hard-done-by when his tackle on Ederson was deemed to be a foul, and he was then booked for it. Was composed on the ball, which was vital when he got the ball around the corner to Haaland for the equaliser. EPA -
Emre Can - 4, Gave the ball away to start the move that resulted in the opener and was booked during the penalty incident that was overturned. There were various times where he thought too slowly with the ball at his feet. Reuters -
Mahmoud Dahoud - 7, Was neat on the ball and showed moments of quality, while he also put in some impressive work defensively. EPA -
Ansgar Knauff - 6, He was thrown in at the deep end, making his first ever start, and while he wasn’t completely out of place, the teenager struggled to get much out of either City full-back. Reuters -
Erling Haaland - 7, Spent so much of the game on the periphery of proceedings but came alive to set up the equaliser. Saw his effort saved after getting the better of Dias. Reuters -
Marco Reus – 8, Was aesthetically pleasing with the ball at his feet throughout, but even better, he scored the equaliser. Came so close to intercepting a Dias pass inside the City box. EPA -
SUB: Giovanni Reyna (Knauff 63’) - 6, Worked hard and showed moments of quality but couldn’t really display his talents in their entirety. Reuters -
SUB: Thomas Delaney (Dahoud 81’) – N/R, Did the basics well but couldn’t quite help Dortmund keep City out. EPA -
SUB: Thomas Meunier (Morey 81’) – N/R, Allowed Gundogan and Foden to run off the back of him for the winner. Reuters
"I want to be ourselves," he said. "That is my wish. I know the weapons they have. Every single person who loves football, they all know the quality they have. But in the semi-finals, you don't play a low average player."
In particular, PSG have the two most expensive players in history, in Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. "He will have the whole of football ahead of him in the next years, similar to [Erling Braut] Haaland," said Guardiola of the Frenchman.
He first faced Neymar in the 2011 Club World Cup final, which Barcelona won 4-0, and said his star-studded team were impressed by the Brazilian’s talent. He felt that the forward line Neymar joined was the greatest ever.
“When I showed 10 or 15 clips, I said: ‘This is the king of Santos.’ All the players had their mouths open and said: ‘Oh my God, what a player. I’m pretty sure if he’d stayed in Barcelona they’d have won two or three Champions Leagues more, with Neymar, [Lionel] Messi, [Luis] Suarez, the best three I’ve seen.”
Winger Riyad Mahrez drew a comparison with the big names at other clubs. “Obviously we don't have big stars like Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo but everyone can play, everyone makes the difference. And it's more a collective thing.”
Mahrez will return to his native Paris with memories of last season's defeat to Lyon still hurting him. "The Champions League is the thing we're missing," he added. "Last season [when City were knocked out by French side Lyon in the last eight] was the biggest disappointment of my career to not go through to the semi-finals."
Dortmund 1 City 2: player ratings
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BORUSSIA DORTMUND RATINGS: Marwin Hitz 7 - Had a tremendous game and kept City at bay until the penalty, for which he dived the right way but couldn’t stop Mahrez’s well-hit effort. Excellent distribution when under pressure. He made a great save to deny De Bruyne, but should have done better to keep out Foden’s goal at the near post. Reuters -
Mateu Morey 5 – The full-back was a weak link and City tried to exploit him by overloading players on the left. Reuters -
Manuel Akanji 6 – Had a good chance to double Dortmund’s lead soon after Bellingham’s goal, but his header didn’t trouble Ederson. At the other end, other than one mistake where he lost his footing, he stood his ground well. PA -
Matts Hummels 7 – Looked confident on the ball with both feet and showed his experience on numerous occasions. He started plenty of moves with his incisive passing, and worked with Guerreiro to double team Mahrez at every opportunity. Headed the ball against the post in the second half. AFP -
Raphael Guerreiro 6 – Got forward on the overlap several times on the left-hand side but rarely got the better of Walker. Reuters -
Emre Can 5 – Gave away a penalty when he handled Phil Foden’s cross. He stooped low to try and clear but got his angles wrong. It was one of several mistakes in which he lost the ball, or his man. AFP -
Mahmoud Dahoud 6 – Warmed Ederson’s gloves with a well-struck effort in the opening exchanges. He was involved in a fascinating tussle with Gundogan in which both players performed admirably. EPA -
Jude Bellingham 7 – The 17-year-old was a man possessed. He scored his first Champions League goal and became the youngest Englishman to score in the competition. He showed quick feet to get the ball onto his right foot, and then stroked the ball into the top corner. He then saved a shot off the line, but fizzled out in the second half. PA -
Marco Reus 6 – Saw a shot blocked by Kyle Walker as Dortmund went for a second goal. He later crossed for Hummels, who headed against the post. AP -
Ansgar Knauff 4 – A disappointing evening, and there’ll be question marks as to why he wasn’t replaced sooner. There was little of the usual pace or aggression in the press. Getty -
Erling Haaland 7 – Got the wrong side of John Stones in the build-up to the goal. Held the ball up well and brought others into play, but he was well marshalled by Stones and Dias overall. Reuters -
SUBS: Giovanni Reyna (Knauff, 68) 5 – Was brought on to try and exploit the space that Haaland created with his runs, but to no avail. AFP -
Thorgen Hazard (Dahoud, 75) N/A – Should have been introduced earlier, but he came on just before the corner that led to City’s goal and he probably could have been tighter to prevent the shot. AFP -
Julian Brandt (Bellingham, 81) N/A – Probably would have been frustrated not to start, but he couldn’t influence the game with nine minutes left on the clock. EPA -
Steffen Tigges (Morey, 81) N/A – A late addition who didn’t see much of the ball. AFP -
MANCHESTER CITY RATINGS: Ederson 6 – The Brazilian was at full stretch but couldn’t keep Bellingham’s effort out of goal. He was solid throughout, though, and his distribution as impressive as ever. PA -
Kyle Walker 6 – Made a good block to deny Reus when Dortmund were on top, but didn’t offer City a great deal at either end. His pace is unquestionable, but he was one of the weak links. Getty -
John Stones 7 – Got the wrong side of Haaland in the build-up to the Dortmund goal, but recovered well to keep Dortmund at bay for the rest of the game. Reuters -
Ruben Dias 7 – Didn’t do enough to prevent Bellingham from finding the net, but otherwise did exceptionally well to keep the Norwegian quiet for much of the game. Made a key block shortly after Mahrez’s penalty. Getty -
Oleksandr Zinchenko 7 – Delivered a couple of crosses from the left hand side and threatened with a long-range effort. Reuters -
Rodri 7 – A very understated performance in which he was a steady influence in those moments of the game when Dortmund threatened. PA -
Ilkay Gundogan 6 – The German was everywhere, harassing Dortmund all over the pitch and quick to break when he went on the attack. Reuters -
Kevin De Bruyne 9 –City’s driving force and he came close to levelling when, after having won the ball back on the edge of the area, he struck an effort against Dortmund’s post. He came close again in the second half, but it was his overall work rate that marks him out as City’s standout player. AFP -
Riyadh Mahrez 7 – Came close to an equaliser when he emerged out of nowhere to get on the end of Foden’s hooked ball into the box, but his shot was blocked by Bellingham. However, he made sure later when he stepped up to convert from the penalty spot. AFP -
Phil Foden 8 – Scored City’s decisive second goal with a fierce shot from the edge of the area that was too much for Hitz at the near post. Earlier, he showed a great touch to bring the ball down before hooking it back to Mahrez for shoot. PA -
Bernardo Silva 6 – Was quick to respond after De Bruyne hit the upright, but his header on the rebound didn’t trouble Hitz. He later supplied a short corner to Foden for the second goal. EPA -
SUB: Raheem Sterling (Mahrez, 88) N/A – A late addition, Sterling looked a bit rusty. On one occasion, he ran into the area and was caught in two minds about what to do, before losing possession. EPA
