The Citizens were woefully below-par in the continental competition, with Bettor.com analyzing what has gone wrong for the club this season.
When the draws for the Champions League were released back in September, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mancini-c23323 claimed that his side would dominate their group and perhaps even win the coveted trophy at Wembley.
That, however, proved to be nothing more than fruitless comments, as the Blues struggled to get past Real Madrid at the very first hurdle. Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho did enough to frustrate Mancini and the tactician was feeling the pressure as Borussia
Dortmund came into town.
Being one of the most feared teams in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904, the hosts faced a tough task in getting away with a win and that is exactly what transpired at the Etihad.
Jurgen Klopp’s men held the Sky Blues to a 1-1 draw and placed their Champions League aspirations into jeopardy with only two games gone.
Ajax were next and the game was seen a must-win for the Premier League champions if they were to progress to the knock-out rounds.
However, the Eredivisie outfit were at the peak of their form and thrashed the visitors like they were some low division team clearly out of their depth. Mancini was running out of excuses.
Since 2008, Sheikh Mansour has invested his wealth in the club and wants to see success on the pitch rivaling his efforts on the financial side of things.
Winning in England’s top flight was one objective, but in order to announce City’s arrival on the biggest stage, he needs to capture the big-eared trophy and bring it home.
With the situation perilous, Mancini was in dire straits when Ajax headed to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/England-c749 and the Italian coach had revenge on his mind.
The Amsterdammers went onto hold the Manchester giants to a 2-2 draw and setup City for a last chance against Madrid at home.
Mourinho’s men may have been struggling in La Liga, but their stupendous form in the Champions League meant that they were not easy opponents, no matter what the location.
Headlines were made as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 returned to the town where he made his name as the world’s finest. And considering his iconic status at Old Trafford, the Portuguese winger was determined to grind out a win against his former employer’s arch rivals.
Things went immediately wrong for Mancini as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Karim-Benzema-c20350 scored the opener inside 10 minutes.
His side had to labour throughout the game to get an equalizer and finally their efforts paid off when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sergio-c33030 Aguero hammered in a penalty to take the score to 1-1.
The players were visibly distressed as they tried to keep their hopes of playing in the Champions League alive, but in the end, the efforts were futile and City crashed out of Europe’s premier competition.
Fighting against Borussia Dortmund for a place in the UEFA Europa League, Mancini and his squad again succumbed to a defeat and later fell out of the continent’s tournaments entirely.
The mood in the squad was best summed by goalkeeper http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Joe-Hart-c18699, who claimed that they had not only let themselves down but the Premier League as well.
“Have we let ourselves down by finishing last? Of course we have. We've not even got in the Europa League. We wanted a win and we've let ourselves down. We wanted to do it and if that meant Europa League then great.”
“We've been fantastic in the league, so I don't think there are worries about Sunday. Hopefully now we can win the league and deal with Europe next year,” said the England Shot stopper while talking to the media.
Indeed, the landscape has changed significantly at the helm and only retaining the title will keep Mancini in his current http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Job-c18684.
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