Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini saw his side suffer a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League
Manchester City suffered another Champions League nightmare on Wednesday night.
The Citizens suffered a 2-1 home defeat against CSKA Moscow and also saw Yaya Toure and Fernandinho dismissed.
Bottom
The defeat left Manchester City bottom of Group E, with just two points from their four group games so far, with a game against German giants Bayern Munich to come.
The Citizens look to be clinging onto their Champions League lives by the skin of their teeth at the moment.
Underachievers
Manchester City have been European football’s underachievers in recent years. If they fail to make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League this season, then they will have failed to make the last 16 of the competition for three out of the last four seasons.
Better is expected of a club who have invested so heavily in players, staff and facilities in recent years. Everybody connected with Manchester City must be scratching their head wondering why City produces such poor performances in European competition.
Complacent
Some of City’s poor performances have to be put down to complacency. Hardly anybody expected CSKA to come to the Etihad Stadium and pick-up a win, especially as the Russian side had failed to win in their last seven Champions League group games.
On paper CSKA Moscow should not have given City so many problems, but they showed up and put in a good display and City underestimated yet another Champions League rival and paid the price by losing the game.
Boss
The likes of Arsene Wenger and Brendan Rodgers have been dragged over the hot coals after their teams Champions League games this week. Now is the turn of Manuel Pellegrini. The Chilean arrived at City without a trophy to his name in European football.
He won the Capital One Cup and Premier League title in his first season in charge. He was hired on the basis of his former-teams performances in the Champions League. He guided Villarreal to the semi-finals of the competition and also took relative minnows Malaga to the quarter-finals.
However, those achievements came with underdogs, rather than a team who were expected to have a big impact on the competition. Pellegrini’s managerial acumen has been tested this season and so far he is coming up short.
The Chilean will have to prove he has the ability to turn things around at the Etihad Stadium or he could go the same way as former-boss Roberto Mancini.
Pellegrini has assembled an expensive squad full of international players, who should be able to negotiate the group stages of the Champions League, but for some reason City struggle in European competition.
Fans
There seems to be a mental block at City when it comes to the Champions League. Not just the players, but everybody within the club. The fans seem to have a slight apathy towards the Champions League and it is difficult to explain.
For so long City fans were among the best fans in the English game, even with City in the third tier of English football fans would turn up in their droves. With success and money come fans who are glory hunters. Maybe City have collected some of those fans.
Attitudes
City’s big player’s often petulant attitude on the pitch does not exactly help the atmosphere or teams performances. Some of the team’s top players seem to be unable to raise their game when it comes to the Champions League.
City’s performances in all competitions this season have not been great, but their displays in the Champions League have been particularly lacklustre.
Qualification
City’s tepid displays in Europe have put their hopes of qualification for the last 16 in major peril. German giants Bayern Munich have already won the group, but the other qualification spot is very much up for grabs.
Roma and CSKA Moscow both have four points, but meet in the next match as City host Bayern at the Etihad Stadium. The bookmakers now make City odds of 4/1 to qualify for the knockout stages, longer odds than CSKA and Roma.
The odds are against the Citizens to make it to the knockout stages of the Champions League and on current form it is difficult to argue with the bookies.
City’s form has to turnaround soon, or they could find themselves out of the Champions League and out of the race for the Premier League title, which would be unthinkable after the amount of time, effort and money that has been invested in the club in recent years.
Can Manchester City turn their season around?
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