Manchester City in danger of failing to reach knockout stage against CSKA Moscow
There is considerable distance separating what it takes to win things domestically, even in the toughest of leagues, and what it takes to win things in the UEFA Champions League. The modern history of European soccer is littered with the carcasses of teams that dominated their countries yet could never put it together in Europe. Real Madrid of the late 2000s. Inter Milan in the middle of that decade. Valencia at the turn of the century. Olympique Lyon for the first decade of the 2000s. Shakhtar Donetsk in recent years.
Manchester City threatens to join that dubious company. While having won Europe's most competitive league, the English Premier League, twice out of the last years, they have made almost no impression on the continent. When the Citizens return to Champions League action on Wednesday, hosting CSKA Moscow (live, FOX Sports 2, 2 p.m. ET), they are in danger of failing to reach the knockout stage of this tournament for a third time in the last four years.
After making their debut in this competition in the 2011-12 season, following the vast influx of cash from their new Abu Dhabi-based ownership, their progress was slow. This has been common among teams that were quickly bought together, rather than grown organically, and City, to be fair, were also handed tough draws those first two years. Still, they seemed to have turned a corner last season, when they finally escaped the group.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini seemed to have the tactical wherewithal that his predecessor Roberto Mancini plainly lacked - he had overseen Inter's continental failings mentioned above as well - and showed that he knew how to win in Europe. They sailed through. It didn't hurt that they finally got a friendly draw, but they were clearly a team that had figured some things out. Then, they ran into the Barcelona buzzsaw in the round of 16, as so many other teams have. Tough break.
But this year, it seems like City are back to square one. Three games into their continental campaign, they are winless. They were vanquished by Bayern Munich 1-0 in their opening game, on a late but just goal for the Germans. Then they tied AS Roma 1-1 at home - dropping points they really needed against their big rivals for that presumed second place behind Bayern. And, worse still, they blew a two-goal lead against CSKA in Russia a fortnight ago to settle for the 2-2 tie.
That game began something of a slump for City, who went on to lose to West Ham United in the league and Newcastle United in the League Cup in the following eight days. A well-deserved 1-0 win over Manchester United in the derby on Sunday seemed to put things back on track. But if City fail to follow that up with a win over CSKA at home, Roma, who are already two points ahead, could put them in a real hole if they get a result at Bayern.
That might be unlikely though, considering that Bayern blew Roma to smithereens 7-1 - away, no less - two weeks ago. It bears watching how the Italians recover from such a sickening shellacking.
More interesting yet is the contest between Ajax and Barcelona (live, FOX Sports 1, 2 p.m. ET). The latter are the ideological heirs to the former. Ajax invented the player development mechanisms and playing style that formed the foundation of the system that has allowed Barcelona to thrive, after it was passed on by star player Johan Cruyff and manager Rinus Michels in the 1970s as they left Amsterdam for Catalonia. That has been of little consolation (or relevance) lately though, as the Spaniards are now plainly in an altogether different class. Two weeks ago, Ajax gamely fought back after Barca took a quick 2-0 lead, and clawed back a late goal by newest prodigy Anwar El Ghazi before Sandro put the game away for the home team.
The contest was ever so appealing, though. And Barca are sort of in dire straits at the moment, promising more fireworks. Ever since mega-signing Luis Suarez become eligible to play after the suspension he brought with him from Liverpool during the summer - Suarez who made his name at Ajax, incidentally - Barca lost El Clasico in embarrassing fashion to Real Madrid, 3-1, and were then upset by Celta Vigo at home. Their first two league losses of the season dropped them from first to fourth in La Liga.
Since they had also lost their away game to Paris Saint-Germain - who host APOEL on Wednesday - the second match day in Europe, they now need that win. Or, suddenly, Luis Enrique's return to the club as their manager won't be going so swimmingly as it looked to in the early going. And Barcelona's dominance would be imperiled not just at home, but in Europe as well.
