Ilkay Gundogan has branded Manchester City's near-misses in the Champions League “tragic” as Pep Guardiola's side continue their quest for the trophy.
City have come agonisingly close to conquering Europe since Guardiola arrived in 2016, but have fallen short on every occasion. The Sky Blues went out at the quarter-final stage on away goals to Tottenham on in 2019, lost the final to Chelsea in 2021 and were dumped out of the semis last season by Real Madrid, despite holding a two-goal advantage heading into the 90th minute of the second leg.
Guardiola won the Champions League twice as a coach with Barcelona and it is the only trophy to elude him in his glittering spell at City.
City's quest to land the elusive trophy continues on Wednesday night, when they host Borussia Dortmund in the group stage at the Etihad Stadium.
City captain Gundogan, who also lost the 2013 Champions League final with Dortmund, admitted there is a fine line between success and failure in European football's elite club competition.
"In the last few years, the way we got knocked out, maybe it was a bit tragic the way it happened, but I don't think we should regret anything," the German said.
Will Manchester City win the Champions League this season? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
"I think the most important thing we've learned is the margin of mistakes and the little details. The quarters and semis - and the final, obviously - the margins are so tight that no mistakes are really allowed.
"It's always an experience. It was incredible to play the final, even if we lost it. We always try to learn from it. All we can do is try to reach the maximum and see what's going to happen."
