‘I don’t know if it is a secret but he got in touch for the video’: Gary Lineker reveals Raheem Sterling asked BT for clips of Man City’s Champions League loss to Tottenham to ‘get the feeling of losing’ for inspiration before slaying Real Madrid
- Raheem Sterling scored the opener as Manchester City beat Real Madrid 2-1
- The result knocked Madrid out of the Champions League, 4-2 on aggregate
- Last season City were painfully knocked-out by Tottenham in the quarter-final
- BT host Gary Lineker revealed Sterling asked to be sent the video of the loss
Raheem Sterling used Manchester City’s defeat to Spurs in the Champions League quarter-finals last year to inspire his talismanic performance on Friday, Gary Lineker has revealed.
The Englishman scored the crucial early goal as Pep Guardiola’s side knocked Real Madrid out with a 2-1 victory at the Etihad, winning 4-2 on aggregate.
Last season’s continental run ended in a painful defeat for Sterling, who wheeled away in celebration believing he had scored the winner in the second-leg before his goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
Raheem Sterling led City to the Champions League quarter-finals with his goal on Friday
The Englishman opened the scoring as Manchester City beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the last-16
Gary Lineker revealed that the forward used defeat to Spurs last season as his motivation
City crashed out on away goals, losing 4-4 on aggregate to eventual finalists Spurs and leaving a bitter taste in Sterling’s mouth.
‘I don’t know whether I’m supposed to share this or it’s supposed to be a secret from Raheem, but he actually got in touch with BT to ask for the video of last season’s game against Tottenham Hotspur that they lost,’ Lineker said.
‘Not just to see his performance but he wanted to get that feeling back of losing and what it meant, which just shows you how much thought goes into his game.
Sterling thought he’d taken City past Spurs in 2019 before his injury-time goal was disallowed
‘He wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.’
Sterling has been crucial for City in Europe this season, already firing-in six goals and providing two assists in eight Champions League games this season.
City were left disappointed with their distant second-place in the Premier League this season, but showed their determination to put that behind them on Friday night.
‘We showed energy and passion. We needed to run our socks off and the results will follow,’ Sterling said.
City will face Lyon in the quarter-finals as they hunt for the club’s first Champions League title
‘We know how good they are and the difference was who was willing to put in the extra yards.
‘That was part of the plan, to be on the front foot and be aggressive and we got two goals from it.
‘It’s a great achievement, hopefully plenty more (goals) to follow.’
The Citizens’ success is largely judged on their European performance and victory kept their dreams of a first Champions League trophy alive on Friday, set to face Lyon in the quarter-finals in Lisbon.
