It would be fair to argue that over the past few years Manchester City has been the top side in England. Having finished victorious in two of the last three Premier League seasons, and coming second in the other, Manchester City have put their lavish wealth to good use.
Manchester City have even made their mark in the domestic cups yet there is still one blotch on their resume in this new and exciting era for the club. This blotch is of course the Champions League, footballs biggest and most prestigious club competition, and one that City have disappointed in since their long awaited return to the competition in 2011.
Manchester City Look To Avoid Another Champions League Disappointment
In that season and the two that followed Manchester City would only escape the Group Stage once. Even when they did this they were briskly dispatched by Barcelona in the Round of 16. While Manchester City could’ve blamed this exit from the competition along with previous ones on difficult draws, this is a team that has found substantial domestic success, in what is generally considered the best league in the world. They really should be capable of challenging the very best in Europe.
City fans would be hoping that this campaign would be the one where their team took the next step and showed their true ability amongst Europe’s finest. However early on in the Champions League season and there is a strong sense of déjà vu around City’s progress, or lack of, in the competition so far. With Manchester City only registering one point in their first two games is it right to expect they will falter or is this truly the season that they do challenge?
The first obstacle in Manchester City’s path is the competitors in their group. Group E is arguably the toughest in the competition. With 2013 champions Bayern along with Roma, CSKA Moscow and the English Champions themselves there is bound to be at least one big casualty.
The dilemma for City is that a third of the way in and their main challengers are already in front of them with Roma on four points and Bayern on six. This means City’s next match against Russian side CSKA Moscow is a must win. However this in itself is no small feat as travelling to Moscow’s Arena Khimki seldom proves to be an easy outing for opposition. There is also some bad blood between the teams when Yaya Toure was racially abused by certain CSKA fans when Manchester City ran out 2-1 winners the last time the teams met. Yet the stark reality remains that if City don’t snare a win in Russia they’ll be have to put in some almighty performances in their final three Group Stage matches to simply progress.
If Manchester City are to win they will certainly need their key players to stand up. For all City’s attacking talent they have only found the back of the net once in their two games in the competition. There are several players, Toure included, who have been criticized for lackluster performances. Thankfully for Manchester City one thing they do have going for them is a manager who can get the best out of these players.
Manuel Pellegrini in general has a fine managerial record but the Champions League is where he excels the most. Only a couple of campaigns ago Pellegrini took a financially crippled Malaga to the quarter finals of the competition. Perhaps even more notably in 2006 Pellegrini’s Villarreal side amassed a sensational run in the competition as they made the semi-finals. Equally encouraging for Manchester City fans is that this success for Villarreal was Pellegrini’s second season with the club, he is currently in his second for City.
Regardless of how well Manchester City play from this point on in the Champions’ League Group Stage they are likely to finish no better than second in their group. This perhaps poses City’s biggest issue as none of the sides that finished second in their group progressed past the Round of 16 last season, Manchester City included. This means that even if City do manage to get through the groups stage they will most likely get a team like Barcelona or another powerhouse which substantially hinders their chances of progressing further.
Manchester City are a formidable outfit, yet even than in such a group a strong start was needed and the one they delivered was certainly not that. Down to the talent in the squad and a skilled manager who can extract the best from his players Manchester City may well manage to scrap through their group if they beat CSKA Moscow in their next match. The evidence points to Manchester City having another disappointing season in the Champions League. Maybe with a good run they could defy the evidence yet it seems like a Round of 16 exit may be the best that will be achieved by the English Champions.
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