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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Five reasons Manchester City have not prospered in the Champions League | Five reasons Manchester City have not prospered in the Champions League |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A too open rearguard | A too open rearguard |
| Ahmed Musa’s pre-game prediction that Manchester City were “very weak” in defence proved all too true as CSKA Moscow enjoyed a virtual free pass around the back of the English champions, particularly in the second half. This is hardly a new problem for City in the competition. Against Roma this season the Italians’ equaliser came when Francesco Totti raced through to score with Vincent Kompany and co failing to track back and close space. The mind also goes back to Barcelona last year in the opening last-16 leg at the Etihad Stadium. Finer defenders than Martín Demichelis have been bamboozled by Lionel Messi yet the ageing centre-back was left exposed and forced to pull down the forward ahead of being sent off in the 55th minute and his Argentinian countryman converted the resulting penalty. Culpability here rests too in midfield where against CSKA Fernando failed to do the job he was bought specifically for: tighten up the XI. | |
| Misfiring Yaya Touré | Misfiring Yaya Touré |
| This has become the hoariest chestnut of City’s uncertain Champions League fortunes because the Ivorian continually fails against the continental sides. Against CSKA he was once more anonymous but also to blame for the late penalty that sent City home with only a point. Yaya Touré, attempted a back-heel that proved indulgent as possession went to the Russians and they moved towards Joe Hart’s goal and won the spot-kick from which Bebras Natcho scored. Understandably, Manuel Pellegrini has so far refused to drop Touré as the Chilean must hope that one day his star midfielder will turn up and finally win a European match for the side. So maybe another option is to start both Fernandinho and Fernando and push Touré further forward and just tell him to attack. | |
| Pellegrini’s muddled tactics | Pellegrini’s muddled tactics |
| As City led 2-1 after 72 minutes at the Arena Khimki the manager decided to twist by taking off Edin Dzeko for the pace of Jesús Navas as Pellegrini sought to re-establish the two-goal cushion the team had enjoyed at the break. Yet with the score still 2-1 and just six minutes later the Chilean had a rethink and decided it was time to try and shut the shop by taking off David Silva, the team’s creative maestro, and bringing on the defence-minded Fernandinho. The manager’s strategy was also questionable in the insipid 1-1 draw with Roma when discerning precisely how he wanted his team to play was difficult. “We have nine points left to play for,” he said in his post-CSKA briefing. “After we’ve played for those nine points we’ll see how many we have. Of course we can still qualify.” True, especially after Roma’s 7-1 hammering by Bayern Munich. But Pellegrini needs to have a clear vision about how best to approach the final three matches of Group E. | As City led 2-1 after 72 minutes at the Arena Khimki the manager decided to twist by taking off Edin Dzeko for the pace of Jesús Navas as Pellegrini sought to re-establish the two-goal cushion the team had enjoyed at the break. Yet with the score still 2-1 and just six minutes later the Chilean had a rethink and decided it was time to try and shut the shop by taking off David Silva, the team’s creative maestro, and bringing on the defence-minded Fernandinho. The manager’s strategy was also questionable in the insipid 1-1 draw with Roma when discerning precisely how he wanted his team to play was difficult. “We have nine points left to play for,” he said in his post-CSKA briefing. “After we’ve played for those nine points we’ll see how many we have. Of course we can still qualify.” True, especially after Roma’s 7-1 hammering by Bayern Munich. But Pellegrini needs to have a clear vision about how best to approach the final three matches of Group E. |
| Players’ mindset | |
| Kompany is adamant: “There’s no mental block, there’s just occasionally a number of performances that need to be better, that’s all it is. But I’m not going to follow the trend and go against my team, more than the media will do already, that’s your role. In my case I’m 100% convinced we’ll overturn it. People forget we had a strong group stage last year, it’s not every season the same. But this year we’ve made it more difficult than it has to be.” This last sentence is particularly true and so, despite the captain’s insistence, are City allowing a negative mind-set to hamper them? It was instructive to hear Pablo Zabaleta admit in the pre-CSKA press conference that City were not yet a competitive factor in the Champions League. A reasonable response here is: “Really? Why?” Along with Sergio Agüero and Demichelis the right-back was a member of Argentina’s World Cup final squad, while Silva has won the competition with Spain, plus the European Championships, and of City’s other A-listers, Touré, Hart, Dzeko and Kompany are all vastly experienced. If they are not ready now to at least seriously compete for the European Cup then when might they be? | Kompany is adamant: “There’s no mental block, there’s just occasionally a number of performances that need to be better, that’s all it is. But I’m not going to follow the trend and go against my team, more than the media will do already, that’s your role. In my case I’m 100% convinced we’ll overturn it. People forget we had a strong group stage last year, it’s not every season the same. But this year we’ve made it more difficult than it has to be.” This last sentence is particularly true and so, despite the captain’s insistence, are City allowing a negative mind-set to hamper them? It was instructive to hear Pablo Zabaleta admit in the pre-CSKA press conference that City were not yet a competitive factor in the Champions League. A reasonable response here is: “Really? Why?” Along with Sergio Agüero and Demichelis the right-back was a member of Argentina’s World Cup final squad, while Silva has won the competition with Spain, plus the European Championships, and of City’s other A-listers, Touré, Hart, Dzeko and Kompany are all vastly experienced. If they are not ready now to at least seriously compete for the European Cup then when might they be? |
| Late goals | Late goals |
| Pellegrini moaned afterwards that matches last “95 minutes” as he implored his team to focus for all of a contest. He is correct to identify this as a fault but is yet to arrest it as this season – and in others –City have an unfortunate habit of allowing too many late strikes. Against CSKA, Natcho’s penalty came four minutes from the end, while Jérôme Boateng’s winner for Bayern in the Group E opener came in the closing seconds of the contest. Last season Dani Alves scored in the 90th minute in both legs of the last-16 tie to help Barça to a 4-1 aggregate triumph. Look back further and in Roberto Mancini’s final season – the 2012-13 campaign – José Mourinho’s Real Madrid came from 2-1 down at the Santiago Bernabéu to win 3-2 through an 87th-minute Karim Benzema finish and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 90th-minute strike. If this sloppiness continues City will be heading for the exit door of this year’s Champions League before the serious stuff starts in the new year. | Pellegrini moaned afterwards that matches last “95 minutes” as he implored his team to focus for all of a contest. He is correct to identify this as a fault but is yet to arrest it as this season – and in others –City have an unfortunate habit of allowing too many late strikes. Against CSKA, Natcho’s penalty came four minutes from the end, while Jérôme Boateng’s winner for Bayern in the Group E opener came in the closing seconds of the contest. Last season Dani Alves scored in the 90th minute in both legs of the last-16 tie to help Barça to a 4-1 aggregate triumph. Look back further and in Roberto Mancini’s final season – the 2012-13 campaign – José Mourinho’s Real Madrid came from 2-1 down at the Santiago Bernabéu to win 3-2 through an 87th-minute Karim Benzema finish and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 90th-minute strike. If this sloppiness continues City will be heading for the exit door of this year’s Champions League before the serious stuff starts in the new year. |
| City’s six worst Champions League results | City’s six worst Champions League results |
| Manchester City 1-3 Bayern Munich (2 Oct, 2013) | Manchester City 1-3 Bayern Munich (2 Oct, 2013) |
| A collective ordeal for City and a personal one for Joe Hart, who let Franck Ribéry’s shot to go in off his gloves. They had never before been so comprehensively outclassed on their own ground in the new era. | A collective ordeal for City and a personal one for Joe Hart, who let Franck Ribéry’s shot to go in off his gloves. They had never before been so comprehensively outclassed on their own ground in the new era. |
| Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Manchester City (4 Dec, 2012) | Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Manchester City (4 Dec, 2012) |
| Another fitful performance, another soulless defeat. This was the season when Manchester City wanted to make a statement in the Champions League; finishing with the lowest points tally of any English team in history was not quite what they had in mind. | Another fitful performance, another soulless defeat. This was the season when Manchester City wanted to make a statement in the Champions League; finishing with the lowest points tally of any English team in history was not quite what they had in mind. |
| Ajax 3-1 Manchester 1 (24 Oct, 2012) | Ajax 3-1 Manchester 1 (24 Oct, 2012) |
| Samir Nasri’s goal offered hope after 22 minutes but the capitulation that followed merely affirmed the sense that City, and then Roberto Mancini, had not yet fully grasped what is required in Europe. | Samir Nasri’s goal offered hope after 22 minutes but the capitulation that followed merely affirmed the sense that City, and then Roberto Mancini, had not yet fully grasped what is required in Europe. |
| Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City (18 Sep, 2012) | Real Madrid 3-2 Manchester City (18 Sep, 2012) |
| Edin Dzeko then Alexsandar Kolarov scored goals that appeared to seal a memorable victory. However a Marcelo curler beat Hart for a first equaliser before Karim Benzema answered Kolarov’s strike and Ronaldo stepped up to grab the glory in the last minute. | Edin Dzeko then Alexsandar Kolarov scored goals that appeared to seal a memorable victory. However a Marcelo curler beat Hart for a first equaliser before Karim Benzema answered Kolarov’s strike and Ronaldo stepped up to grab the glory in the last minute. |
| Napoli 2-1 Manchester City (22 Nov, 2011) | Napoli 2-1 Manchester City (22 Nov, 2011) |
| Beaten by Edinson Cavani’s two goals, the Uruguayan opening the scoring in the 17th minute and then re-establishing the lead early in the second half after Mario Balotelli had equalised. Defeat left City staring at group-stage elimination again. | Beaten by Edinson Cavani’s two goals, the Uruguayan opening the scoring in the 17th minute and then re-establishing the lead early in the second half after Mario Balotelli had equalised. Defeat left City staring at group-stage elimination again. |
| Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City (27 Sept, 2011) | Bayern Munich 2-0 Manchester City (27 Sept, 2011) |
| Game best remembered for Carlos Tevez’s refusal to warm up or come on as a second-half substitute, apparently because he was angry that he had not been asked to enter the play earlier. | Game best remembered for Carlos Tevez’s refusal to warm up or come on as a second-half substitute, apparently because he was angry that he had not been asked to enter the play earlier. |