Hopes were first raised and then quashed. Manchester City must hope it does not set a precedent for the biggest night they have experienced yet in the Uefa Champions League.
The sight of Vincent Kompany on the training pitch prompted thoughts that, after a month on the sidelines with a calf injury, City’s captain could be parachuted back into the side for Tuesday night’s quarter-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain.
However, Manuel Pellegrini duly assumed the role of the naysayer. “It is not possible,” the City manager said.
So the spotlight shines on Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi on an evening when the equation is simple: Keep a clean sheet and City will be semi-finalists.
Doing so, however, entails stopping PSG’s record scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic — whose 39 goals this season include one in last week’s 2-2 draw — plus Edinson Cavani, Lucas Moura and Angel Di Maria.
“They have very good strikers,” Pellegrini said. “We know they are dangerous.”
The Chilean manager was quick to argue that City, with Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Kevin de Bruyne and Yaya Toure, are equally capable of causing problems, but the first leg cemented the impression that these sides are both better at going forward than defending. City will not play for the stalemate. Some would say they cannot.
“If we prepare to play 0-0, I think we lose,” Pellegrini said.
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Instead, they will play a progressive game while relying on much-maligned figures to nullify one of Europe’s most feared forward lines.
A first leg featuring four of the most expensive centre-backs in football history was notable for some questionable defending. PSG’s David Luiz, the costliest and perhaps the most erratic, is suspended for the rematch. City will retain the £74 million (Dh387.16m) pair of Mangala and Otamendi, who will start despite a minor ankle sprain.
“I am absolutely confident, because with this defence we played a lot of games in the Premier League and in the Champions League and if we are in this stage, it is because we have good defenders,” Pellegrini said. “Maybe they made some mistakes in the last game against PSG, but I trust they will play in the level they can do it.”
However, Mangala has rarely justified his price tag, and Otamendi has been inconsistent.
The statistics show the importance of Kompany. City’s defence has only been breached six times in Premier League matches with the Belgian on the pitch, and 27 times during his frequent absences. But there was an air of defiance which City need to imitate on the pitch.
“We have a good defence,” said Bacary Sagna, who is set to be part of it. “We know Vincent is important but we have quality players also.”
That ability has been displayed in fits and spurts this season. Often imperious at home in the past, City have been beaten at the Etihad Stadium by Juventus, West Ham United, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Manchester United.
“It is a totally different competition,” Sagna said.
The sense that this is something unique is growing by the game. The first-leg scorelines render it possible that Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid — the competition’s three favourites — could all fall at this hurdle.
An opportunity may be developing. City’s ambitions could be broadening.
“If we arrive to the semi-final, it will be a very important achievement, but we will not be happy just with that,” Pellegrini said.
Unlike City, Pellegrini has made that journey once before, reaching the last four with Villarreal in 2006. A decade on, memories of Juan Roman Riquelme’s penalty miss against Arsenal still linger.
A manager in search of future employment, Pellegrini could benefit from an extended run to ensure he regains a reputation as an overachiever in continental competition.
The greater significance, however, lies with a team on the verge of a belated breakthrough.
“It is a very important game not for me or because of what will happen for me next season,” Pellegrini said. “It is important for the club.”
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