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| Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany must translate anger and frustration into confidence |
EVERYTHING should be serene for Manchester City following a pristine start to the season and yet Vincent Kompany spoke yesterday of a squad consumed by disappointment, anger and frustration.
The resumption of the Champions League finds a team still smarting from past inadequacies. City accept it is time to raise their game.
“It is about finding the confidence we have in the Premier League and bringing it into the Champions League,” said Kompany.
“We are really determined and hungry in the Premier League after what happened last season. The same goes for the Champions League. We are disappointed and frustrated from many seasons before.
“We need to take that anger or that desire or that energy into this game. It is so important.”
While manager Manuel Pellegrini was reluctant to look beyond tonight’s showdown with last term’s beaten finalists, Juventus, there was something about Kompany’s address that suggests City mean business.
The Abu Dhabi billions used to transform the club’s fortunes means they are cut little slack on this stage when the reality is that, in failing to progress beyond the last 16 in any of the last four seasons, they have twice come unstuck against Barcelona.
The flipside is that City have, at times, not helped themselves whether through Pellegrini’s tactics or a naivety that should no longer be prevalent with the players they possess.
“We have not handled most of our games in the Champions League well,” said City captain Kompany in a blunt analysis.
“It is quite simple. You can talk about balances but I think performances were down. Whatever happened last season needs to be used as a lesson.
“We have a good team and we should always believe in ourselves.
“Since we have been in Champions League, it has been Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich and that is it. They were the three strongest teams by miles and every other team has been playing catch up.
“If I look at where we have come from and where we have got, we are doing ok for ourselves. Now it is all about the future.
“Facilities like we have here and the way we work with the academy and improving the squad every year, this is how we can close the gap. Will it happen this year? Hopefully.
“But even if we manage to beat them, they are still the three strongest teams. For us, or any other team, to close the gap it will take time and hard work over the years.”
The absence of Sergio Aguero due to the knee injury sustained against Crystal Palace last Saturday complicates their return to Europe, but David Silva and Raheem Sterling are fit and £54m Kevin de Bruyne is in line to make his full debut.
There is depth to City’s squad with De Bruyne the sort of talent who can make the difference going forward, although there will be an onus on Pellegrini to ensure there is a more refined approach to matches and less of the helter-skelter.
The City manager was eager to add context to his side’s struggles but, equally, he is aware of his side punching their weight in a group, which also contains Seville and Borussia Monchengladbach, and beyond.
“It’s very important because it’s a barrier that we haven’t been able to overcome for various reasons,” said Pellegrini. “We’ve been improving. Just four years ago, Manchester City had never played in the Champions League. We qualified twice and got knocked out in the group stage.
“The team has already shown what it can do at the top level in England. We’ve won two of the last four league titles and finished second in the other two.
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| Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini was reluctant to beyond Champions League tie with Juventus |
“We need to take an important step forward in Europe and I hope it can happen this year.”
Since the draw was made a little of Juventus’ aura has been stripped away.
The Italians claimed their first point of the season in Saturday’s draw with Chievo, but will be without influential midfielder Claudio Marchisio who has a hamstring injury.
It is a further blow given Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo left in the summer, and although the much-coveted Paul Pogba remains the consensus is that this is a good time for City to play them.
“We don’t want to go out to the strongest teams, but to compete with them and at least beat them on a regular basis,” added Kompany.
“It is another year and another season full of hope.”
Now City must deliver.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov; Fernandinho, Toure; De Bruyne, Silva, Sterling; Bony.
Juventus (3-5-2): Buffon, Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini; Cuadrado, Sturaro, Hernanes, Pogba , Evra; Mandzukic, Morata.
Referee: Damir Skomina (Slovenia)
Kick-off: 7.45pm, BT Sport
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