Typical Manchester City. It has become an old cliché but one that is now so appropriate on these Champions League nights.
Manuel Pellegrini's side headed into their group opener on the back of an imperious start to the Premier League campaign. After so many false starts they looked set to finally make their mark on the European stage after going 1-0 up against Juventus here. But it all crumpled so quickly and yet again we are left to wonder just what is wrong with this club in this competition.
The atmosphere around the Etihad Stadium was strangely flat ahead of the game and seconds before kick-off the fans showed that they are not ready to bury the hatchet with Uefa over their Financial Fair Play penalties by jeering the Champions League anthem - so beloved by players and fans elsewhere.
It may seem a minor point but it shows not everything is quite as it should be. These should be nights to cherish. City are regarded as a genuine challenger on the continent and you get the sense that this is a club still finding its feet, unsure of its place to the extent that they are almost scared by the big occasion.
Going by domestic form City should have won this game at a canter. Juventus have had a terrible start to their Serie A title defence but showed that a little bit of know-how goes a long way in European competition. They would have been out of it if not for their veteran goalkeeper, Gianluigi Buffon, who made a fantastic double save from first Raheem Sterling and then David Silva. That would have been 2-0 and game over but the hosts, who haven't had any kind of resistance after taking the league against English opposition, once again they have contrived to throw it away in Europe.
Kevin De Bruyne was being readied to come on when Mario Mandzukic made his first real contribution of the night - getting on the end of Paul Pogba's cross to equalise. Brian Kidd was giving the Belgian his instructions as the ball glanced in off Joe Hart's post and the City's coach's frustration was clear for those who glanced at the home bench and not the jubilant travelling supporters.
De Bruyne, the club's record signing, suddenly had a very different brief but he could not provide the necessary craft to put his side ahead once again. Like starters Samir Nasri and David Silva he struggled to make an impact and it was another City substitute who, unwittingly, made the telling contribution.
Nicolas Otamendi made his debut, entering for the injured Vincent Kompany, superb during his time on the pitch, but followed Alvaro Morata too far to the left and was easily turned. The Spaniard, who knocked his former club Real Madrid out of the Champions League last season, knew exactly what to do in the space and curled home a fine winner which left Hart stranded.
Juventus had two forwards who were on the periphery for large parts but made the difference when it mattered. In the absence of Sergio Aguero, City were forced to play to Wilfried Bony.
For the first hour City had made all the running, controlled the game, kept the opposition strikers quiet and even fared well in midfield, where Fernandinho and Yaya Toure, so often a problem against the biggest clubs, looked comfortable even against a midfield three.
"I think that was a strange game." That was Pellegrini's offering post-match, and it's hard to argue. If the Chilean knew what had happened to his side he showed no signs of it in his press conference.
He insisted that there were no lessons to be learned from previous campaigns, and in fact pointed out that his men have their last two Champions League openers but qualified for the knock-out stage anyway. If that was supposed to inspire belief, it didn't really work.
City thought they had been drawn into a group of death at the end of August but none of their opponents - Juve, Sevilla or Borussia Monchengladbach - have managed to pick up a single victory in their respective leagues. A bit of belief would go a long way here.
But this game only served to show, once again, that City do not yet have what it takes when they come up against accomplished European sides.
As Pellegrini rather meekly pointed out, their campaign is far from over. Nor does this defeat take away from their hitherto brilliant start to the season. But as captain Kompany said before the match there can be no excuses for failure this time around.
Pellegrini offered no excuses but had no answers, either. If City are to fulfil their vast potential this season, they'd better start coming up with some.
No comments:
Post a Comment