City have enjoyed a stunning start to the domestic campaign and sit five points clear at the top of the table after winning 12 of their opening 14 games. However, the club's first foray into the Champions League has proved more demanding, with City in danger of being eliminated at the group phase. Mancini's side must beat Bayern Munich at home on Wednesday, and hope Napoli fail to beat Villarreal away, in order to reach the knockout phase. The Italian is aware the odds are not in his side's favour and believes City are still another season or two away from competing with Europe's best clubs. "We should try to beat Bayern Munich and hope Villarreal can do a good game against Napoli," said Mancini. "But if we don't go through in the Champions League our lives will continue. "We will play in the Europa League and try to win the Europa League. We did our thing. We made some mistakes in this group and this can happen." He added: "When we started our season the Barclays Premier League was the first target for us. I think we should be realistic in the Champions League. "There are four or five teams who are better and ready to win a Champions League. "For a team like us to play for the first year in the Champions League, it is difficult to win. "Maybe if you are lucky you can get into the quarter-finals, if you don't meet Barca or Real Madrid. "I think these two teams are better than us at the moment but we want to work. We want to arrive in one or two years at their level, if possible."
