Pellegrini must deliver after UCL draw
Having drawn Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League round of 16, perhaps the 2015-16 season is the point where Manchester City’s luck in the competition changed.
City fans everywhere were holding their breaths as the name Paris Saint-Germain came out of the pot of unseeded teams in Monday’s draw. Manuel Pellegrini’s side never seemed to get the draw they wanted, bowing out of the competition to Barcelona twice in successive seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15, so the fear was that PSG — the most dangerous of the unseeded teams — would be drawn against City.
Instead, it’s the other English teams who are left cursing their luck, as Arsenal face Barcelona and Chelsea have PSG for the third year in a row. Although many things can change by the time the fixtures are played in February, it seems there’s a very real possibility City could be the English side that goes furthest in this season’s competition.
However, if Pellegrini’s men are to progress to the quarterfinals, they will need to improve on their previous defensive record in the competition. As it stands, hey’ve managed just four clean sheets in 34 matches in the Champions League.
A shut-out in the first leg against Kiev would be preferable, but not a necessity providing City score themselves. With the second leg at home, the last thing the English side will want is to have to take chances pushing forward to salvage the tie and leave themselves exposed to conceding an away goal.
There are further complications, too. Dynamo Kiev’s stadium will be empty as they’re currently serving the second match of a punishment handed down by UEFA following racist behaviour and crowd disturbances at the home match against Chelsea last month. That will make for a strange atmosphere and one that didn’t benefit City when they threw away a two-goal lead at CSKA Moscow last season to draw 2-2.
City fans have a turbulent relationship with UEFA at the best of times and there’s certainly potential for it to continue to deteriorate. One of the many reasons supporters have lost faith in the European governing body was that they took no action when around 300 home fans sneaked into Moscow’s closed stadium during the 2014-15 group stages.
On top of that, it now feels like City fans have been punished for something they haven’t done by not being allowed to travel to the match. The saving grace is that the decision has come before supporters have bought plane tickets, hotels and visas — unlike last year.
The match will be a tough test on the pitch, too. City’s fixtures could begin to pile up in the spring. Should they make it past Everton in the League Cup, the trip to Wembley for the final will be around the same time as the next phase of the Champions League and the difficult run-in towards the Premier League title should start around then as well.
Meanwhile, Kiev will be rested as their domestic league is on a winter break until March, though it does mean that perhaps City’s opponents won’t quite be as sharp as they could be.
The only time these two teams have faced each other, it was Kiev who progressed in the 2010-11 Europa League. Roberto Mancini’s City couldn’t overcome a bizarre night in the Ukrainian capital, where they left with an awful 2-0 deficit and Mario Balotelli had an allergic reaction to the pitch. In the return leg, the Italian made headlines again — this time, he was sent off in City’s 1-0 win.
As they meet again in the Champions League, City will be expected to progress. If they don’t, serious questions will be asked of the manager. He’s got all the tools in place to take the club further than they’ve ever been before in the competition and his job may be on the line if he fails to deliver.
Before Monday’s draw, goalkeeper Joe Hart said he wouldn’t complain which team his side faced. He’s right in a sense, because no tie was going to be a walkover. However, it’s good that City have avoided the worst-case scenario.
It’s also a positive that some big names will be knocked out ahead of the quarterfinal draw — should Pellegrini’s men make it that far.
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