Manchester City begin to answer their critics in Europe

Manuel Pellegrini declared Manchester City were answering their critics after they secured a second successive last-gasp Champions League win by beating Sevilla 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Three weeks on from coming from behind in Germany to defeat Borussia Monchengladbach 2-1 with a late goal, City repeated the trick against their Spanish visitors as Kevin De Bruyne’s stoppage-time strike sealed all three points.

And Blues boss Pellegrini said afterwards: “I think that maybe there is a lot of criticism of this team in Europe but these two last games that we played in Europe reflect that we have the character to try to win.

“We will continue trying to improve our play, but for me, the character, concentration and intensity in Europe has been very important.

“When you win in the last minute it gives you more trust in what you are doing.

City had to dig deep to battle to a victory that leaves them with six points from three games in Group D, one point behind leaders Juventus, who were held to a goalless draw at home by Monchengladbach on Wednesday.

Sevilla took a deserved lead on the half-hour through their star man Yevhen Konoplyanka and although an Adil Rami own-goal saw City equalise six minutes later, it took a long time for the hosts to really get going.

They looked vulnerable at the back for long periods, while skipper and centre-back Vincent Kompany spent most of the game watching, only coming on as a substitute in the last few seconds.

Pellegrini had left Kompany on the bench during Saturday’s 5-1 win over Bournemouth after expressing his unhappiness about the defender having played for Belgium in the international break due to concerns over his fitness.

And asked about Kompany after the Sevilla game, Pellegrini said: "I think (City's starting centre-back pairing) Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala are playing very well, both of them.

“Vincent is just coming back from a long injury that kept him out for a month, and it was probably a risk to give him the responsibility to play in this important game.”

Asked if he would be sticking with the Otamendi-Mangala partnership for Sunday’s derby match at Manchester United, Pellegrini added: “Tomorrow we will start thinking about the derby and we will see the way the players recover.

“We have a lot of different things to think about for the next game. I am happy with the team.”

When City did start to get a grip in the second half against Sevilla — with Pellegrini having made some adjustments — De Bruyne was very much to the fore, and he duly delivered the winner with a cool slotted finish from Yaya Toure’s pass.

De Bruyne has been hugely impressive since his big-money arrival at City in August, and Pellegrini said of the Belgian: “We bought him because we thought he is a very creative player, he has goals and because this team tries always to play attractive, offensive football.

“So I think in all senses, he was the perfect player to arrive in our team.”

Looking ahead to Sunday, Pellegrini added: “It is always good to arrive into the derby winning the game you played before.”

According to Joe Hart though, City's attacking instincts can leave them exposed at the back and the goalkeeper wants the side to tighten up defensively after going eight games without a clean sheet.

City began the season rock solid at the back, going five straight Premier League games without conceding.

Some of the sudden slackness can be put down to the absence of Kompany as all five of their clean sheets came with him in the side. The Belgian has been sidelined since mid-September with a calf problem.

“We are working hard as a team” said Hart.

“We appreciate we are quite an attacking team so we can leave ourselves a little short at the back sometimes and it’s something we want to improve, but we want to improve all over the pitch to be the team we want to be.”

While goalkeeper Hart is understandably focused on City becoming harder to score against, match winner De Bruyne says it was their commitment to attack that earned the points on Wednesday.

“Even though we didn’t have our best game, in the end we tried everything to look for the victory and thankfully in the end we could score,” De Bruyne said.

“To get a draw (in Spain) isn’t that bad but I think we have a team to attack. Sevilla are very good in possession but we will try to get the three points there too,” he added.