City crashed to defeat in Naples courtesy of two Edinson Cavani goals to only one from Mario Balotelli. With our hopes of qualifying now reliant on a favour from Villarreal this is likely to prove a costly result.
Roberto Mancini’s side were always unlikely to win the Champions League but getting beyond the group stages would have been good for building the brand, and for the money with Financial Fair Play in mind.
Continue Reading →Hart – Might have done better trying to stop Cavani’s second with his foot rather than hand. Pulled off a couple of excellent saves in the second half to keep us in the contest. 6
Kolarov – Fears over his lack of pace proved fully justified. Not quick enough to cause problems in attack nor to relieve them in defence. 5
Continue Reading →City take on Napoli in what feels like a play-off to progress from the Champions League group stages. Roberto Mancini knows Naples well and the team ought to be well prepared for a difficult game.
There has been much talk of the intimidating atmosphere, Napoli’s home record in European competition and, of course, the attacking trio of Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik. Yet City are full of confidence having won their last nine fixtures, while Napoli have won only two of their last eight in Serie A.
Continue Reading →City’s first ever away victory in Europe’s premier club competition could hardly have been more comfortable thanks to a clinical pair of Yaya Toure strikes sandwiching a Mario Balotelli penalty. Injuries and Aguero’s last minute winner in the previous round had clearly taken their toll on Villarreal.
Roberto Mancini sprung a surprise in selecting Stefan Savic ahead of Joleon Lescott. Maybe the manager didn’t want to risk Joleon ahead of the game against QPR when Kompany is suspended. With Villarreal impotent in attack Savic was able to demonstrate his excellent composure on the ball – you have to remind yourself he’s still only 20.
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