Man City seek Etihad miracles
3 Oct 2012 9:51 AM GMT
Manchester City may only be heading into their second Champions League game of the season but Roberto Mancini’s side’s clash with Dortmund at the Etihad may prove hugely significant for both.
City suffered a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in their opening game despite taking the lead twice in the Bernabeu.
This is only their second Champions League campaign after failing to get beyond the group stage last season. They only collected one point from their opening two matches a year ago and were always playing catch-up to Bayern Munich and Napoli.
Mancini, who has admitted he considered a move for Dortmund’s Poland striker Robert Lewandowski in the summer, will be desperate to be in a better position after two games this time around but they will face a stiff test against the German champions.
Dortmund collected three points with a late 1-0 win over Ajax in their opening game.
Mancini concedes that Wednesday night’s match, which comes before a double-header against Ajax, who are rated as the group’s relative weak links, will be key to his team’s hopes of reaching the knock-out phase. The Italian said: ‘The group is very difficult. We didn’t start too well because we lost against Real Madrid and for this reason it is important to play well against Dortmund.’ ‘It will probably be a similar game [to Napoli] because Dortmund are very good on the counter attack and it will be a difficult game.
‘But we want to go through to the second stage this year and this game will be very important.’
Mancini is adamant that his team have learnt the lessons from last season’s campaign but is sure that if they can match their previous tally of 10 points it will be enough to progress.
Maicon remains doubtful with an ankle problem, while fellow defender Micah Richards is also unlikely to be risked as he has not featured this season due to a similar injury.
Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund, who managed just four points in the group stage last year, have also endured a patchy opening to the season. Meanwhile Real Madrid will look to continue their winning start in the campaign when they face familiar opponents Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena.
City suffered a 3-2 defeat to Real Madrid in their opening game despite taking the lead twice in the Bernabeu.
This is only their second Champions League campaign after failing to get beyond the group stage last season. They only collected one point from their opening two matches a year ago and were always playing catch-up to Bayern Munich and Napoli.
Mancini, who has admitted he considered a move for Dortmund’s Poland striker Robert Lewandowski in the summer, will be desperate to be in a better position after two games this time around but they will face a stiff test against the German champions.
Dortmund collected three points with a late 1-0 win over Ajax in their opening game.
Mancini concedes that Wednesday night’s match, which comes before a double-header against Ajax, who are rated as the group’s relative weak links, will be key to his team’s hopes of reaching the knock-out phase. The Italian said: ‘The group is very difficult. We didn’t start too well because we lost against Real Madrid and for this reason it is important to play well against Dortmund.’ ‘It will probably be a similar game [to Napoli] because Dortmund are very good on the counter attack and it will be a difficult game.
‘But we want to go through to the second stage this year and this game will be very important.’
Mancini is adamant that his team have learnt the lessons from last season’s campaign but is sure that if they can match their previous tally of 10 points it will be enough to progress.
Maicon remains doubtful with an ankle problem, while fellow defender Micah Richards is also unlikely to be risked as he has not featured this season due to a similar injury.
Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund, who managed just four points in the group stage last year, have also endured a patchy opening to the season. Meanwhile Real Madrid will look to continue their winning start in the campaign when they face familiar opponents Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena.
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