CITY ARE STILL FAILING WHEN IT MATTERS
WILL this be breakthrough night for Manchester City in the Champions League? Will this year see their first appearance in the last eight of the competition? It depends.
Are Dynamo Kiev a good team? Worryingly, if they are, the form book says City will not progress. City’s record against the best clubs is alarmingly poor.
A league table (below) of the current top eight Premier League teams, comprising only matches played against each other, makes unhappy reading for City.
They have won a single game against top eight opposition all season, at home to Southampton, and the Champions League was little different.
Juventus were the best team in Manchester City’s group and City lost to them, home and away. They took maximum points from Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach, which was creditable, but it is impossible to win a trophy of significance by just defeating also-rans. City must step up.
Of course, the Guardiola revelation will be blamed if City fall short, but even if he had gone elsewhere it would still quite possibly have been Manuel Pellegrini’s last season. City were failing when it mattered long before news of Guardiola’s appointment broke.
On paper, City should have enough to defeat Kiev over two legs — but they should have enough to be higher than fourth, too. With the Capital One Cup final against Liverpool on Sunday, City’s season could fizzle out very quickly unless they rise to the challenges ahead. Elite teams must thrive in elite company, or there can be no breakthrough.