We lost the first game against Real Madrid 2-0, so we had nothing to lose, Barnetta, now starring once again for hometown club St Gallen, recalled. We thought maybe, if we can score, there is a little, little chance.
They did just that – Christian Fuchs and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar establishing first-half leads that were cancelled out on each occasion by Cristiano Ronaldo.
An injury to Eric Maxim Choupo Moting saw Sane introduced for a Champions League debut before the half hour and, after Karim Benzema put Madrid ahead on the night, the teenager took centre stage.
Collecting a pass from Fuchs on the right-hand corner of the penalty area, Sane shifted inside and curled a vicious shot beyond Iker Casillas – becoming the youngest player to score against Madrid in the competition in the process.
Sane proved a menace for an increasingly petrified Madrid backline and a driving run through midfield – that trademark shift in direction that somehow appears at once jolting and smooth was already in evidence – helped to create Huntelaar s second, making it 4-3 to Schalke and ensuring a grandstand finish.
I m not sure everyone recognised how close it was. In the last minutes we had a chance with [Benedikt] Howedes. If he scored this header we would have gone through and it would have been amazing, Barnetta recalled, having been wowed by his youthful team-mate.
He was not afraid of Real Madrid or the Bernabeu and the fans. He just came on the pitch and did his thing.
I always say that there is a little bit of luck in a career. Maybe his luck was that he could score in this game.
Everybody was watching this game and if you score against Madrid everybody is talking about you. If you score an amazing goal like Leroy did, all the clubs are asking, Who is this guy? .
There have been bumps in the road since, most notably Sane s surprise omission from Germany s shambolic World Cup defence in Russia.
8 Since the start of last season, Leroy Sané has both scored and assisted in eight games for Manchester City, at least three more times than any other player at the club (Sterling and Agüero 5). Spectrum.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
But season-on-season improvement is in evidence under Pep Guardiola and, with talks over a new contract on-going, Barnetta feels the sky is the limit.
It s a hard question, how good he can be, he added, as Sane enters the Schalke game with 12 goals and 13 assists to his name this term in all competitions.
But if he is continuing like this, to get even stronger and trying to score more goals than he already did, he can be so important for a team.
He can make the difference, even if a team is not playing well, and that is what every team is looking for.
I don t know how much you have to improve if you are already playing for one of the best teams.
I just hope for him he is continuing like this and, if he spends the rest of his life at Man City, it will be a great career.
