Milner after City reaction

James Milner wants Manchester City to immediately bounce back from their ‘massive disappointment’ in the Champions League.

Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Napoli in Group A leaves City’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the continent’s premier club competition hanging by a thread, but England midfielder Milner backed the squad to rally and come back stronger.

“We’re a strong group of players, mentally as well. We still have confidence in ourselves,” Milner told Sky Sports ahead of City’s English Premier League clash with Liverpool on Sunday. “This is a massive disappointment but it’s all part of football.”

“You have to deal with disappointments, move on from them and make sure you learn from your mistakes. That makes you a stronger and better team.”

“It’s a learning curve for us. We have to make sure we bounce back from this but learn from it also.”

“We’re disappointed but we will pick ourselves up and go again on Sunday at Anfield and make sure we bounce back with a good performance and get a win.”

Roberto Mancini’s men could see title rivals Manchester United close the gap on them to just two points if they beat Newcastle on Saturday, but Milner said his team-mates will pay no attention to those around them on the table.

“We’re not really worried about what other teams are thinking. We’ve got some big games coming up and it’s going to be massive on Sunday,” said Milner, who has scored two goals in 19 City appearances in all competitions this campaign.

The 25-year-old said immediately shifting focus to another big match helped to move forward from their loss in Europe.

“That’s the pleasing thing – we’ve got games every few days,” he said.

“We don’t have an international break to think about the defeat, we’re straight back at it and hopefully we can bounce back with a victory.”