We're just day away from finding out the round of 16 ties in this season’s Champions League, with the draw to be made at UEFA’s headquarters this week. Manchester City overcame their recent struggle in the group stages since their first venture into the competition for nearly forty years in 2011-12, to qualify for the knock-out stages for the first time. Manchester City have been rejuvenated by the arrival of players like Álvaro Negredo and Fernandinho in the summer, coupled with stars like David Silva and Sergio Agüero already in the team, and accompanied by an experienced manager in Manuel Pellegrini.
After managing to get past Viktoria Plzen, CSKA Moscow and current Champions League winners Bayern Munich, the Blues were rewarded with a place in the draw for the next round. The English side finished second in their group D, by virtue of five wins and a loss. However, this does mean that whatever opponent the Citizens draw will be sure to give them a run for their money.
It is now time to look back over the six group games that Manchester City played over the past few months, and also examine the teams that the side could face after tomorrow’s draw in Switzerland.
Last season’s FA Cup runners-up started their campaign in the competition with a trip to the Czech Republic, for a game which was labelled a must-win game by the supporters because of the standard of the opposition their side was facing. After a shaky start, and after being level at the half-way point, three good goals for the away side set them on their way to the three points. Agüero, Yaya Touré and Edin Džeko were the scorers on a night where the European campaign got off to a flying start.
In their second game, the Blues were back on home soil for the visit of current German champions Bayern. The Bavarians, now managed by former Barça man Pep Guardiola, won the treble last season, and as such few expected the home team to get anything from the tie. Indeed, a master-class of football from the visiting Germans showed just how good the foreign sides are in comparison to English ones. Franck Ribéry, Thomas Müller and Arjen Robben all got on the scoresheet in a game where Joe Hart received much of the blame for City’s defeat. However, Spanish striker Álvaro Negredo did net a late consolation past Manuel Neuer, to make the scoreline look less impressive than it was.
Still reeling from their defeat against arguably the best team in the world, Pellegrini’s side made the long trip to Moscow in order to play one of Russia’s traditional top clubs. This was a game that will have worried a fair few people, as Russia is always a tough place to go, especially in the Champions League. However, City more than coped with the pressure put on them to bounce back from the Bayern defeat, and came from behind with Argentine star Agüero scoring twice to cancel out former Manchester United player Zoran Tošić’s opener. This left City with six points from three games, and in a good position to qualify.
CSKA’s game in England came at the wrong time for the Russian’s – just after Manchester City had hit their rich vein of home scoring form that has since seen the Blues dismantle both Tottenham and Arsenal (putting twelve combined past the North London sides). CSKA’s visit was littered with goals – seven, to be precise. Sergio Agüero, who has been in fine form this season in all competitions scored twice, whilst summer signing Negredo scored a hat-trick to make the scoreline look ever-more convincing. Seydou Doumbia got a consolation in each half to add some respectability to the game, but it was still a very convincing win for the side who seem on a mission to recover from last season’s lack of trophies.
In Viktoria Plzen’s visit to Manchester, it dawned on the fans that this game was the one that, if won, would seal their progress to the last 16, along with Bayern. As such, Manuel Pellegrini fielded a strong side in a bid to ensure the win. However, as we know football is an unpredictable sport, and the Blues had some protest from the Czech’s in their quest. Hořava and Tecl both scored at inconvenient times to equalise and put pressure on the Blues. Agüero and Samir Nasri had put the home team ahead before each of those respective goals, before fan favourite Negredo came on to slot home from close-range and Edin Džeko headed home a goal to add some gloss to the score. However, Plzen were a lot more impressive than the scoreline would suggest.
With qualification secured, Manchester City had to visit Munich and the Allianz Arena in their final group game, in a bid to finish top of the group. The English side had to win by three clear goals, which looked nigh on impossible. With a key game against Arsenal in the following Premier League game, Manuel Pellegrini chose to rest several key players, and instead fielded a weakened side. This move did not look to be paying off after 12 minutes though, with Thomas Müller and Mario Götze both scoring to make it 2-0 to the Germans early on.
However, a stellar performance from the Blues following the second managed to turn the game on its head, and send City to the win. David Silva, one of few first-team stars in the starting line-up scored after 28 minutes to give the travelling fans some hope, before captain for the night Aleksandar Kolarov equalised with a surprisingly cool penalty past Neuer in the 59th minute. Just a few minutes later, former Leeds United and Newcastle star James Milner pounced on an error in the Bayern defence to curl a sublime finish past arguably the world’s best keeper in the 62nd minute. Despite having to defend for much of the remainder of the game, the away side hung on for a famous win.
The size of the victory cannot be underestimated. For me, Bayern München are the best team in the world, and they showed this with the treble they won last season under Jupp Heynckes. However, City’s second-string side was able to go to the German’s ground and come away with the win, lucky as it may have been. This win could give the Citizens the confidence they need to go on and win the league title this season.
All eyes are now on the draw tomorrow, to see who will be paired up with who in the next round. As the Blues came second in their group, it means they are guaranteed to face a group winner now. Thanks to this rule, the Manchester club are guaranteed one of Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, Atlético Madrid, or Barcelona. None of these would appeal to any fan really, but PSG are probably the easiest of the five, even with Zlatan Ibrahimović and Edinson Cavani leading the team. The Spanish sides are sure to be the ones City want to avoid, with them all having some of the world’s best players. Whoever the Blues get, the fans will as always just be pleased to see some world-class players playing the side who lost away to York City in the Second Division in December 1998.
