It was another night to forget for Manchester City in the Champions League. Daniel Storey looks at where it went wrong against CSKA Moscow as hopes of progression sit almost in tatters
Wednesday 5 November 2014 23:19, UK
"Of course our target is always to try and win the Champions League. We must put in our mind that we are able to do it, that we have a good squad. I think we have time to prove it."
This was a night on which to make Manuel Pellegrini's pre-match call to arms look questionable, ending as it did with his Manchester City side on their knees in the UEFA Champions League once again. They were ill-disciplined, unconvincing in attack and abject in defence.
If the concession of two late goals in Moscow a fortnight ago was the punch to the stomach, this was the knockout blow. City must now beat Bayern Munich and Roma in order to qualify for the last 16. On this evidence, the chances of that seem to sit somewhere between 'no' and 'don't be so silly'.
Perhaps fortunately for Pellegrini, referee Tasos Sidiropoulos took much of the initial blame, City's players remonstrating with the officials after the full-time whistle.
City's approach after taking the lead against Manchester United on Sunday threatened to shoot themselves in the foot, but against CSKA Moscow they tried a different approach: Hacking off both legs with a rusty saw. It was as gruesome as that sounds.
CSKA had never previously won in England, and had enjoyed just one away victory in this competition since March 2010. No Russian team had ever won an away game in England. Prior to their previous two matches against City, CSKA had taken four points from their previous 10 Champions League matches. They have equalled that total in 180 minutes against Pellegrini's side.
"We've leaked goals, simple goals have gone in and people have taken their chances against us," Joe Hart told the Independent last week. "With the way we play, we are quite open to conceding the odd goal or two. As long as we carry on playing the way we're playing under this philosophy that we've got under the manager, we will be fine."
Evidence would suggest the opposite. Martin Demichelis has reverted to the form that drew criticism shortly after his arrival, while Vincent Kompany continues to enjoy his reputation as Mr Teflon despite regularly being caught out of position and making poor decisions.
Against CSKA, Gael Clichy produced a poor display. It was his terrible clearance that allowed Seydou Doumbia to score the winner, and the Frenchman lost possession on 15 occasions. The absence of Aleksandar Kolarov may make the heart grow fonder, or City might choose to buy a left-back in January. Who wants an Ashley Cole to join their Frank Lampard?
Even when the home side finally threatened to respond, their ill-discipline halted any potential progress. Fernandinho received two deserved bookings in 25 minutes, while Yaya Toure lashed out in frustration. It was that sort of night.
To add insult to insult, Sergio Aguero was rightly booked for diving in an attempt to win a late penalty. 'I don't believe in diving or conning the referee,' Aguero writes in his new autobiography. 'That's just not how I want to play. I wouldn't know how to dive and think I would be rubbish at it and get booked if I even tried’.
Thankfully, Pellegrini fronted up after the game rather than choosing to blame the officials. "From the beginning we were nervous," the Chilean admitted. "It's difficult to understand why so many important players gave a poor performance. We are going through a crisis of confidence."
"Crisis" very much reflects the mood around the Etihad. Pellegrini may have been given a remit of five trophies in five seasons, but it has always been Sheikh Mansour's aim to achieve success in Europe.
"The club is asking us to win now, so that's one thing," said Kompany in September regarding City's Champions League ambitions. Those hopes could now be in tatters, undermined by another performance far short of their capability.
A version of this article first appeared on Football365.com
