Wednesday 7 March 2018 09:07, UK
Manchester City are not at the level of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich yet, Ilkay Gundogan has warned.
Pep Guardiola's side head into Wednesday's second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Basel holding a 4-0 lead from the first meeting between the sides in Switzerland three weeks ago.
The runaway Premier League leaders are playing the best football on the continent according to Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, one of many to place the side among Europe's elite, but Gundogan insists City have not earned that status yet.
"It is something that it is not in our heads," said Gundogan. "People like to see us at the same level as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich but we still feel we need to compete with these teams. We are not there yet.
"But we are in a very good way and if we have to play one day against them, we want to be ready."
City have kicked on over the past fortnight to win the Carabao Cup and move within four wins of another Premier League title.
A place in the last eight of the Champions League also looks to be a formality heading into Wednesday's return leg against Basel, but Gundogan urged caution in their pursuit of European silverware.
"It doesn't matter how the first leg was, even with that result," said Gundogan. "The Champions League is a big stage for us and of course we want to win it. We want to play in a really serious way and we want to play our way."
