GARY LINEKER revealed Raheem Sterling used a disappointing Man City defeat to Tottenham to spur him on in City’s dramatic win against Real Madrid.
The in-form England forward put on an impressive display against the LaLiga title winners in their Champions League clash on Friday.
Sterling has been in fine form for Manchester City in the Champions League scoring six goals in eight appearancesCredit: Reuters
And he netted a ninth-minute opener that helped Pep Guardiola’s men defeat Zinedine Zidane’s players 2-1 in the last 16 round of the contest.
Last term Sterling was part of a City side dispatched by Tottenham in the quarter-finals of Europe’s top club football competition.
It was a painful defeat for the 25-year-old who endured the disappointment of having a second-leg goal ruled out as offside.
Guardiola’s men went out on away goals after drawing 4-4 on aggregate to the North London club who went on to play Liverpool in the final.
However, it was a loss that Sterling used to motivate his performance in the competition this season.
And it was one the striker was keen to re-watch so he could experience the emotions of that defeat.
Lineker said: “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.
“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 and his Manchester City teammates will play Lyon in the Champions League quarter-finals on August 15Credit: EPA
“He wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again”
Sterling, who has made 30 appearances across all competitions this season, has been in fine form for City up top in the Champions League.
The former Anfield frontman has netted six goals in eight appearances in the competition and provided four assists so far this term.
City may have been annoyed to lose their Premier League crown to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side.
And they seem keen to make amends by the manner in which they saw off Real Madrid.
The Bernabeu giants’ 2-1 defeat on Friday means they loss 4-2 on aggregate to the Citizens.
The win means Guardiola’s men will face Ligue 1 side Lyon in the quarter-finals in Lisbon on Saturday.
After the victory Sterling said: “We showed energy and passion. We needed to run our socks off and the results will follow
“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.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
