Ilkay Gundogan claims he does not need to give Phil Foden any advice ahead of this weekend’s Champions League final.
Foden, 20, has been one of the stars of Manchester City’s outstanding campaign and is strongly expected to feature against Chelsea in Porto on Saturday.
Such is the maturity in Foden’s game, fellow midfielder Gundogan does not feel he will have any difficulty handling the pressure of the big night.
Foden has scored 16 goals in all club competitions this season, including winners in both legs of the quarter-final victory over Borussia Dortmund.
“Phil has become one of our main players throughout the season,” said Gundogan, 30, who has netted 17 goals for City himself this term. “He is doing incredibly well.
“He has improved in so many details of his game, mainly in taking the right decisions at crucial times.
“For such a young age, it is really impressive. I wouldn’t recommend him to do or change anything from what he has been doing over the last few weeks. He is doing great. He is one of the game-changers for us and can be on Saturday.
“There is no need to put anyone under pressure. Everyone has done the right things in the last few months, in such a difficult season.
“I don’t think there is much we should change. It is just about maintaining that level, that form, and going with that attitude into the game on Saturday.”
City’s progress to the final for the first time has come after years of frustration in the knockout stages.
The team had gone out in the quarter-finals in each of the past three seasons and Gundogan admitted last year’s loss to unfancied Lyon was particularly tough to take.
Germany international Gundogan said: “For me personally it took a while, it was a big disappointment, something maybe we didn’t expect, to lose that game.
“We felt quite good, we felt confident and when you feel like that and you lose it you are frustrated, you are sad, you might be a bit angry.
“But, at the end of the day, you don’t have a choice. We went on holiday, came back, trained for a few days and went straight into the next season.
“We didn’t have a choice apart from trying again. This year I feel a couple of crucial things have changed for us compared to other years.
“This year it seems to be we are so stable, especially in the back. I feel we are strong and this is so important in these crucial moments, especially in the knockout stages in the big games.”
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