The surprising key to Manchester City's Champions League success

In the week leading up to Manchester City’s most impressive European victory in club history, a proper 3-1 beating of Lionel Messi and Barcelona on Matchday 4, Citizens manager Pep Guardiola singled out one of his players and tied him to the club’s ability to achieve its long-term targets for the season.

“We need him,” Guardiola said of central midfielder Ilkay Gundogan days before the Champions League encounter against the Catalans. “Without him, we cannot achieve our target. It’s impossible.”

The fact that those comments came prior to Manchester City’s stunning comeback win over Barcelona, where Gundogan slammed home the equalizer and sealed the match with his second tally, spoke volumes about the type of central role Gundogan plays in Guardiola’s vision of Manchester City, both literally and figuratively.

Similar to his signing of Thiago when he arrived at Bayern Munich, Guardiola immediately brought in a central midfielder to play for Man City. Gundogan was Guardiola’s first Premier League signing, and as the season has progressed, that honor appears to hold more meaning than initially expected.

At the start of the campaign, the comparison to Paul Pogba seemed unfair to Gundogan since the German was still sidelined with a knee cap injury that also kept him out of the summer’s European Championships. Nearly a third of the way through the season, though, the argument over the better big-money summer signing can now take form.

Big money is obviously relative, as Manchester City took a 71.6 percent discount on the record setting fee Manchester United paid for Pogba. Pogba is 23 and Gundogan is 26. Injury history and age difference played roles in the price difference, as did Pogba’s obvious talent. Thus far, however, Gundogan has been the better player for the current season in terms of goals scored, assists and team record.

Gundogan started the Premier League season late and has played in four fewer matches than Pogba, but Man City remains unbeaten in league play when the German starts. Also, Gundogan’s three goals and one assist top the Frenchman’s two goals and zero assists. Plus the Red Devils have only won four of the 11 Premiership games since the Frenchman rejoined the Red Devils, along with recording three defeats.

In the short term at least, Gundogan has outplayed Pogba and excelled on a higher platform, i.e. the Champions League. From the onset, though, Gundogan appeared to be a signing eyeing the Citizens’ progress in Europe. He made his club debut against Borussia Monchengladbach on Sept. 14 and went on to start all four of Manchester City’s group stage Champions League matches. Ahead of Matchday 5, Guardiola rested Gundogan and reintroduced the long lost figure of Yaya Toure into the squad. While Toure scored twice against Crystal Palace, Gundogan expects to return to the starting lineup against Borussia Monchengladbach on Wednesday.

Preserving Gundogan for the Champions League is no accident, of course.

Gundogan’s Borussia Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich in the 2013 Champions League final. As a 21-year-old, he had featured as a regular in Dortmund’s Bundesliga winning campaign of 2011-12. So, former Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp featured the then 22-year-old in 12 of Dortmund’s 13 European matches during the 2012-13 European campaign, where Dortmund eventually lost to Bayern in the final, 2-1.

In that 2013 Champions League final, the promising young midfielder started and provided Dortmund its most memorable moment of the match. Following a clear foul on teammate Marco Reus inside the box, Gundogan picked up the ball and placed it on the penalty spot. Star striker Robert Lewandowski, who started for Dortmund on the night, watched from the edge of the box as the younger Gundogan sent Manuel Neuer diving one way and coolly slotted a clinical spot kick into the opposite corner. At 22, Gundogan stepped up on the biggest stage in club football, snatched the spotlight and made the most of his moment to level the Champions League final in the 68th minute.

Some players are built for the pressure of playing in Europe, and clearly, Gundogan fits into that category. With him, Manchester City seems to glow with a special aura of added confidence and belief in Europe that did not exist in the past.

“We dominate Barcelona in the second half, had a few more chances to score,” Gundogan calmly said into a microphone branded with the Champions League logo following City’s Matchday 4 victory. “I think the result is more than deserved.”

Added Gundogan: “It was not so much about the tactics today. It was more about the mentality.”

Gundogan stepped up and delivered a near-perfect performance in Manchester City’s most impressive victory since Guardiola took over, possibly ever in terms of European play. He exuded confidence and belief with his play against Barcelona, as the Gelsenkirchen native converted 29 of his 30 pass attempts. No other player on either team topped Gundogan’s 97 percent pass completion percentage.

Tactically, Gundogan is more of a link-up midfielder than a goal scorer, and his strength is in positioning more than shooting. That instinct to fill the correct open spaces led to two goals against the Spanish champions. More than any other part of the holding midfielder’s game, though, his composure and confidence on the ball in the pressure moments that define a season are why Gundogan is central to Guardiola’s Manchester City, metaphorically and physically.

While Toure may be back in City’s plans for the moment, Gundogan’s continued success, especially in Europe, positions the German to replace the Ivorian at the Etihad permanently.

Shahan Ahmed is a soccer columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA and @perfectpass