Manchester City’s collective sense of destiny summed up by Walker’s run

E ven by the standards of Pep Guardiola at Manchester City, it was a stunning display of strength. There were a few of them here at the club’s training ground on Tuesday as the manager looked ahead to the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on Wednesday night – one of the most monumental occasions in City’s history.

As he had done before the first leg at the Bernabéu last Tuesday, which finished 1-1, Guardiola had no problem in admitting his bosses – the top brass from Abu Dhabi – craved a first Champions League success. It has been a subtle change of tone and his articulation of it seems to come from a place of confidence.

Pre-match tension? You did not feel it in Guardiola, despite a bit of his usual fidgeting. He was a snapshot in easy cool, self-awareness, too. “I’m not overthinking it, don’t worry guys,” he said with a smile.

Guardiola wants his team to play what is in front of them, to be themselves, not to fret about what has happened in the past, the agonising knockout-phase losses. Hence the line about his legacy being “exceptional already”. Guardiola blew out his cheeks. “At home, we feel … wow,” he said. “Full of belief.”

But if we needed action to go with the words, then the guy who occupied the press conference stage before him had a story to tell; an illuminating one. Kyle Walker was trucking along nicely until the home win against Newcastle on 4 March, after which he went out and about in town and everything unravelled.

Walker’s shame has been well documented; the story about the CCTV footage that appeared to show him exposing himself in a bar, the subsequent out-of-court disposal – the way police resolve a low-level crime where the offender is known and has admitted to the