One glaring factor during the Mancini years was his failure in the Champions League, where his side failed to make the knockout stages of the competition in both years they took part. This was obviously something the club's Abu Dhabi based owners were looking to rectify when they appointed Pellegrini, a man who had experience of reaching the Semi-Finals of the tournament when in charge of Spanish outfit Villarreal. To a large extent, he has succeeded, with the club sitting second in Group D with reigning champions Bayern Munich ahead of them. This however still presents a problem, highlighted with the ease in which the German giants tore apart City at the Etihad last month, and they made hard work of beating plucky Russian side CSKA Moscow recently both home and away. Although they have certainly improved on the European front, should they qualify as is looking extremely likely, they will no doubt struggle in the latter stages of the competition, with most of the players in the squad still learning at the highest level. Whilst there is nothing wrong with that, it may take longer than the owners expect for Pellegrini to put right some of the wrongs he took on when he accepted the job, proving Manchester City will not be built in a day. How do you think City will cope this season under new management? Is Pellegrini doing better than you thought?
Began writing about football aged 16, I've previously worked for Goal and I'm currently writing for Inside Spanish Football. Specialise in anything linked, connected with or involving football!
