PATRICE EVRA may be embarrassed at the prospect of Manchester United having to play in the Europa League, but over at Manchester City Roberto Mancini is putting a brave face on a not-entirely-unexpected drop down into the competition.
Having gone out of the Champions League despite beating Bayern Munich 2-0 on Wednesday, the City manager is still targeting two trophies this season, the main aim being the domestic title, but he says Europe’s second-tier league provides worthy motivation.
“We are disappointed, as you would expect. We wanted to go into the second stage and now we can do nothing,” the City manager said.
“But for us the Europa League is still an important trophy. We are not United, or Bayern or Real Madrid. I am sure we will improve if we are in the Champions League again, but it is still important to finish well this year.
“When I say finish well, I mean maybe win two important trophies. If we do that, we can say we have improved on last season. The Europa League is now an important trophy. The Premier League is the priority and after that Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup.
“If we win two of those, I think we can say we have done well, and as long as we don’t get a lot of injuries, we have a team that can play all competitions. The Europa League only starts in February and the next couple of months could be important because we have some big matches to play in the domestic competitions.”
Gareth Barry was one of several City players to vouch for his manager’s determination to compete in all competitions.
“The manager wants to win, I am sure he will put out teams capable of winning games,” the England midfielder said. “The players here are hungry for trophies and, if that means the Europa League, then we will be up for it. Of course it was disappointing to go out of the Champions League but it was our first time, we were in a tough group and we still managed 10 points, which is normally what clubs target to go through. We gave it a great go.”
Mancini believes his players will have learned from their all-too-brief experience in the Champions League. “We have all learned that every game is difficult,” he said. “Even if you meet a team that is not as strong as you, if you don’t concentrate 100 per cent you will concede goals. In the Champions League you cannot afford to concede too many goals, so you must pay attention every game.
“You should also try and arrive at the last game in a position where you can go through if you win. It should depend on you. We arrived in the last game depending on Naples and this was too difficult. Overall I think we can improve on our performances if we get another chance. I think we did well and that we were unlucky with the game in Naples. We didn’t deserve to lose but this is football. You can play well but, if you concede two goals, you end up having to take more risks. You have to keep it tight at the back.” Tell United about it.
At least Manchester’s big two are equal in disappointment, able to concentrate on their FA Cup third-round meeting and the title race without being distracted by Europe’s top competition.
City may even find United are much more discomforted by slumming it in the Europa League than they are but, with Chelsea and Arsenal coming up in quick succession in the league, Mancini is keen to shelve thoughts of Europe for the time being and concentrate on staying at the top of the table.
“Chelsea are a good team with a good young manager; they still have a chance of winning the league,” he said of Monday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.
“You could see from the way they pulled themselves round in the last couple of weeks that they have a fantastic team. I don’t know why people were so eager to write them off; they may be similar to us in that respect.”
GuardianService
