New Delhi: Manchester City have managed to avoid an embarrassing exit from the UEFA Champions League, jumping from the 25th place, the elimination zone, to 22nd with a desperate 3-1 win against Club Brugges. Finishing 22nd is still embarrassing enough, having won the same tournament in 2023. Their next challenge will be either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, a proposition that won’t be welcomed by Man City.
However, the worst possible scenario was not making it to the playoffs of the knockout round, which at one point looked possible, when Burgges went ahead right before the break. City managed to take the lead with Mateo Kovacic equalizing before Joel Ordonez’s own goal put the home side in the lead. Savinho, who replaced Ilkay Gundogan at the break, scored the final goal for City, making it impossible for Brugges to make a comeback.
No one at the start of the season could have comprehended that City would miss out on an automatic knock-out appearance and would struggle to stay in the competition.
A loss in the game would have broken their 11 consecutive seasons of reaching the knockout stage. The performance led to City manager Pep Guardiola saying that City were certainly not good enough to lift the title. However, he believes that by the time City face Madrid or Bayern, they will become a better opposition.
Manchester City’s areas of concern
City were weak at the back and were poor in their attack as well. Their midfield had too many spaces while also being vulnerable during counter-attacks. In Guardiola’s career, it was just the second time a team had failed to have a shot on target in the first half, with the previous one coming against Borussia Dortmund. The season has no doubt been challenging for Man City across competitions, as they sit 12 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
Still, there have been no hints from City that they would in particular threaten either Carlo Ancelotti’s men or Vincent Kompany. During their campaign in the Champions League, City played two draws, against Inter Milan and Feyenoord and lost against Juventus, Sporting and Paris Saint-Germain. The 3-3 draw against Feyenoord came from a commanding position of 3-0 while against PSG too, City were 2-0 before losing the game 4-2. In the final 16, City will be challenged by Bayer Leverkusen or Atletico Madrid.
Guardiola hopes that by the time of the clash, some of his players, including Ruben Dias, Nathan Ake, Oscar Bobb and Jeremy Doku who have been absent due to injuries, will be back in the squad. For these clashes, new signings Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis will be eligible to play. Guardiola is also hoping for new signings who can improve the squad balance as well. John Stones’ comeback in the squad was a good boost for the City squad.
In the Champions League 2022-23, City had beaten both Bayern and Real before they won against Inter Milan in the final. Having always proved their mettle before, City could make a complete turnaround in this tournament despite their poor start.
As Manchester City prep to face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Champions League knockout playoffs, Pep Guardiola feels they will improve themselves by time of the clash. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
