Premier League sides only got four collective points from four games
Thursday 18 September 2014 10:09, UK
Jamie Redknapp says there’s no reason to panic after the English clubs made their worst ever start to a Champions League campaign.
Manchester City and Arsenal both suffered defeats in Germany – losing to Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund respectively - while Chelsea were held at home by Schalke and Liverpool needed a last-minute penalty to beat Bulgarian minnows Ludogorets.
The collective total of four points is the lowest recorded by Premier League sides since four clubs started entering the competition 12 years ago, but Sky Sports pundit Redknapp blames a quirk of the fixture list and expects all of the teams to go on and make an impact in the competition.
He said: “I would say it’s one of those things.
“If you’d said to me before ‘do you fancy Arsenal to go to Dortmund and win?’ then I’d have probably said 'no, maybe they could pick up a point'.
“It’s the same with Man City going to Bayern Munich. Those were tough games, really tough fixtures.
“I did think Liverpool would blow Ludogorets away, so that was a really strange result, and Chelsea was a surprise against Schalke.
“I don’t think it’s too much to worry about yet. Chelsea had a really slow start last year, losing their first game against Basel.
“I just think the fixtures have been really unkind, certainly to Manchester City and to Arsenal.”
Manchester City were denied a point in Munich by a last-minute strike from Jerome Boateng, which appeared to deflect off Mario Goetze.
The Premier League champions only managed two shots on target in the game, but Redknapp said Manuel Pellegrini’s men deserved a draw for their efforts, especially after they were denied a penalty following a challenge by Mehdi Benatia on David Silva.
He said: “Bayern certainly had chances, but the longer the game went on I thought City looked more comfortable and could have had a penalty towards the end.
“Pep Guardiola felt confident his side should have won the game, but I didn’t feel there was that onslaught that you have seen on previous occasions when you go to the Allianz. Bayern Munich will get better, there’s no doubt.
“I did feel City did enough to get a point. When you get that far into a game, an 89th-minute winner is an absolute killer, but they have got to get on with it. There’s nothing they can do now.
“They’ve just go to look forward to that next game and make sure they beat Roma at home.”
