Defeat to an under strength Dortmund team was the final bitter blow in another dismal Champions League campaign for Manchester City. The Premier League Champions finished their group without a single win, taking just three points, the worst ever total from an English side in the Champions League.
Yet when asked, Roberto Mancini claimed he was not embarrassed by his sides humiliating second consecutive group stage knockout. Yet surely he has to admit that to fail to progress from the group stage is unacceptable for a club with the resources of Manchester City.
Certainly the draw could have been kinder to Mancini’s men, presenting them with the Spanish and German Champions as well as the well-established European name Ajax. However the City squad has the strength to match any in world football and Mancini needs to accept that this year, just like last has been an almighty catastrophe for his side.
Despite the strength of the opposition Manchester City should at least have put up a stronger fight than to manage merely to draw three games, losing the other three. Taking points away from Real Madrid was always going to be a difficult test but Borussia Dortmund and Ajax were winnable games where City failed to pick up valuable points. To place the failings of Manchester City is context, for the game in Dortmund they fielded a side that cost £160 million. In contrast Ajax fielded a side that cost just £4 million in the Bernabeu. Yet Ajax secured the Europa League spot ahead of Roberto Mancini’s flops. Maybe the Italian needs to look at himself as a reason for his side’s frequent defeats at Europe’s top table.
Mancini has a European record that does not stack up against the other elite managers in Europe. Inter Milan made the decision to part with Mancini despite him leading the Italian giants to three Serie A titles. Domestically Mancini is an astute coach, but he has consistently failed to grasp the more tactical, technical side of the European game. This season he has persisted with the policy of playing three at the back which has invariably resulted in defensive chaos and goals being conceded. Frequently he has scrapped that system part way through games or adopted it after half and hour or so. This all smacks of desperation from a man determined to prove himself but failing once again.
Of course with the spectre of Pep Guardiola hanging over the biggest names in European management and Jose Mourinho’s constant hints of a return to England, the pressure is on for Mancini to deliver. Whether he will be able to retain the league title is yet to be seen and there is also no guarantee that will be enough to keep him his job.
There is no doubt that Mancini has questions to answer about this European exit. He has to consider that his management will be called into question and the inquests will begin as to why a side packed with experience and quality is unable to deliver in the Champions League. It is without doubt, an embarrassment.
