Football: Man City champs in England, chumps in Europe

Manchester City's coach Manuel Pellegrini conducts a training session before their Champions...
Manchester City's coach Manuel Pellegrini conducts a training session before their Champions League Group E soccer match against Bayern Munich, in Munich this month. Photo by Reuters
It must be hard being a Manchester City fan. They don't even have the old fall-back of mocking United's plastic fans now that they've picked up so many of their own.

While they can quite rightly bask in the glory of winning two Premier League titles in the last three years, glory on the biggest stage in Europe has eluded them. Actually, that's too kind - even competence in the Champions League has seemed a stretch too far.

Last season's performance was a slight step up - with the players they'd bought it would've had to be - but the manner of their demise in the second round was almost as disappointing as their previous exits.

Their 4-1 aggregate loss to Barcelona showed City's European struggles in a microcosm. The attacking verve and exciting play that the Premier League sees week-in, week-out was gone - replaced by a shadow of the same team, one that looked unsure of itself.

City's sudden lack of confidence in Europe is their main problem - one which manifests in a further handful of little niggles that completely disrupt their game.

They start to sit back and defend, as if the 'mature' game-plan is the only way to win in Europe. What they miss, of course, is that they don't have the team to play that style of football - and football on the biggest stages is all about playing to your side's strengths.

Sergio Aguero, Stevan Jovetic, Jesus Navas, David Silva... City's biggest stars barely have a defensive bone in their bodies. But the key man is Yaya Toure. Yaya could single-handedly make the plan work; attacking on the counter, but then bombing back to defend with his magnificent engine.

The problem is that when it comes to defending, Yaya is... Well, he's a bit lazy. He was shown up again against Bayern Munich this week, as City started their campaign with an uninspiring defeat. Bayern ripped City apart, and were unlucky to only win 1-0.

With Toure incapable or unwilling to get back and defend, City are left relying on a defensive line that doesn't hold the same quality as their attacking corps, by a country mile.

This means that instead of City playing to their strengths, they're playing directly to their weaknesses. Manuel Pellegrini needs to have the faith that his vast horde of attacking matchwinners can do their job in Europe, as well as the Premier League. Time to unleash the beasts.

- by Chris Deeley

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