Nathan Ake has called for Manchester City to maintain our recent levels of performance when we return to Champions League action against RB Leipzig.

Pep Guardiola’s men lock horns with Die Roten Bullen in the first leg of our round of 16 clash on Wednesday 22 February, with kick-off scheduled for 20:00 (UK).

City come into the tie having won two of the last three matches but – despite dominating for large spells of the match - were held to a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest in our most recent encounter.

Nonetheless, Ake says he and his team-mates need to approach our first Champions League knockout fixture of 2022/23 with the same mentality that we showed in the Midlands.

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“I think there’s been some frustration with a good step forward then a little back in terms of results,” he admitted in a pre-match press conference.

“The play was alright, especially in the last game but we just didn’t get the result.

“We have to take the confidence from the way we played in the last couple of games into this one, that’s all we can do.

“I don’t think there’ll be too much of a thought that this the Champions League and that we have to play differently.

“We have to go with the same confidence and mentality we have had in the last couple of games and keep it going.”

The Dutch international also offered his thoughts on the potential threats of RB Leipzig; a side who we faced in last season’s group stage.

Ake was on target in a resounding 6-3 win at the Etihad Stadium against the Germans, but Guardiola’s men were beaten 2-1 in the reverse fixture.

And the defender believes those experiences will help City to negotiate what promises to be a difficult assignment this time round.

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He said: “We know them quite well from last season. They were very tough games.

“[They have] A lot of energy on counter-attack they are very fast and very strong.

“Quick, good players up front with [Christopher] Nkunku and [Timo] Werner, they are top players and will make it difficult.

“Last season we lost here 2-1. It was a tough game in different circumstances but still it was a tough match but still we know we need to be a 100 percent tomorrow.”