Joao Cancelo says Manchester City ‘need to embrace pressure’ ahead of Champions League last-16 tie against Sporting CP

Joao Cancelo has called on Manchester City to “embrace pressure” ahead of their Champions League last-16 tie against Sporting CP. Having reached the Champions League final for the first time in the club’s history last season, Cancelo and his team-mates were left with the bitter taste of defeat after losing 1-0 to Chelsea at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto. Ad/> Ahead of City’s return to Portugal this week to face Sporting CP, Cancelo has called for them to go one better this season.

The first leg will be held at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Tuesday evening, with City firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals. Premier LeagueMan City open talks with Bernardo Silva over new deal02/02/2022 AT 11:33 “We’re a very strong team,” Cancelo said in City’s pre-match press conference. “The players we have know how to deal with the pressure of getting to the Champions League final, but we are up against the best teams in Europe.

We need to embrace pressure. “This club deserves to win the Champions League. It’s what this club works towards.

And it’s what we are trying to do this season.” City are unbeaten in their last 12 matches in all competitions, a run stretching back to their 2-1 loss to RB Leipzig in the Champions League group stage in December. /> Despite that result they finished top of Group A, one point ahead of Paris Saint-Germain, though they did lose Kyle Walker to a three-match suspension owing to his needless red card for booting Andre Silva. Asked about City’s recent form, Cancelo said: “The team are going through a good phase.

We don’t concede many and we score a lot. “That reflects our daily work. Now we concentrate on the Champions League against Sporting, that’s the game we want to win.” Pep