Gabriel Jesus says Manchester City have learned how to suffer – and that has him dreaming of lifting the European Cup.
The Blues striker put the pain on Real Madrid by robbing Raphael Varane to tee up Raheem Sterling for the first goal and then superbly tucking away the second in a 2-1 win at the Etihad on Friday night.
But the 23-year-old Brazil international believes that City have taken the lessons from previous Champions League flops, and can now cope with the moments in the game when they are under the cosh.
City have gone out three times under Pep Guardiola, losing to Monaco, Liverpool and Tottenham by conceding goals in quick succession when forced onto the back foot.
That has also been a problem in the Premier League this season, a tendency to concede at important points in games.
Jesus thinks the way the Blues controlled the second leg while 2-1 up from the first leg, and restricted the Spanish champions when the game flowed against them is a sign of growing maturity in the team.
"We knew how to suffer. That is very important, knowing how to suffer during the game,” he said. “There are going to be moments during the game where the opponent is going to press, and we knew how to suffer.
“We know with the ball we are going to create something, we create lots of chances. We didn't score them, but against big clubs, you need to learn how to suffer too.”
The win puts City into the last eight, kicking off with a quarter-final against Lyon in Lisbon next Saturday night.
And Jesus admits he is already fantasising of landing the big prize, even though a semi-final against either Barcelona or Bayern Munich will be the likely reward if they can beat the French side.
“The reality is that all the teams involved in the final eight are going to have a chance to win the competition,” he said.
“Obviously, we have the right to dream and we should start dreaming about winning the Champions League. I'm a dreamer and I see myself with the trophy in my hands.
“However, the reality is different. We need to work really hard, show our willingness to go through in every match.
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“We need to be ready for the next game, it's a knock-out game as of now, and we need to have the determination to win the next game. We need to play well, obviously, because that takes you closer to win.
“Sometimes you can't play as well as you would like, but in this competition what matters is winning.
“It could be our year, of course, but also for the other seven teams involved in the final eight in Lisbon. It's going to be a very quick format, the team that is more efficient, more focused, more determined, is going to win the Champions League.”
