Unsurprisingly, City’s last-gasp defeat at the Allianz Arena is the topic dominating the paper and pixelated pages of the media this morning as Jerome Boateng’s agonisingly late winner unravelled what had been an excellent showing from the champions in Munich in spectacularly cruel fashion.
Joe Hart was undoubtedly City’s star man and his post-match quotes feature heavily in the aftermath of the game, with the stopper calling for his team mates to bounce back with victory against Chelsea this weekend.
““It doesn’t get any easier for us, but that’s the beauty of playing for this side, you get big game after big game,” Joe says in Mark Ogden’s Telegraph piece.
““We like to think of ourselves as big-game players, so we need to step up again on Sunday. It’s a big week for us. We’ve not won for a little while, so we need to step up. We need to win, it’s a close Premier League, they are a title rival, and we need to beat them.””
As ever, we’ll have all the build-up to Sunday’s huge game right here on mcfc.co.uk in the coming days.
The Manchester Evening News offer a few additional nuggets of optimism for City fans waking up disheartened by the result today, of course singling out Joe Hart for special praise but also highlighting Bacary Sagna’s excellent showing – he was man of the match for many a fan on Twitter last night. However as James Robson writes, there was also one player that the champions clearly missed against the German giants:
“The summer addition at right back was impressive as the replacement for Pablo Zabaleta. Granted, he wasn't up against Franck Ribery but the City defender performed with the composure and experience you would expect of a seasoned Champions League player. He should take the pressure off Pablo this season.
“How City could have done with £12m summer signing Fernando. Bayern dominated in the middle of the park at the Allianz Arena – swarming around the Premier League champions. City simply didn’t have the numbers to cope with David Alaba, Lahm, Rafinha and Mario Gotze. Fernando – who was missing because of a groin injury – would have provided an extra body to break down Bayern’s attacks at source. He would also have provided cover for Gael Clichy, in particular, who was exposed far too often.”
The always excellent??? Belcher Report single out David Silva’s contribution to the champions overall success and offer some insight into why he is arguably City’s most valuable asset – more so than even the goal-scoring prowess of Sergio Aguero.
“No one on City's roster can play Silva's quarterbacking role effectively.
“Anyone who has watched City in the past few seasons during Silva's occasional absences can attest to how turgid City's offense becomes when they try to run it through some combination of Samir Nasri, Yaya Toure and the like.
“City get to the final third well enough without Silva. Thereafter, though, they rarely find that last pass that creates a goal without the diminutive Spaniard.
“And it is the ultimate in small-sample-size analysis, of course, but against Bayern it was Silva who seized upon the few openings the German side offered and had two great scoring chances of his own. On a day where City ceded more than 60 percent of possession, such chances were very rare.
“Silva was on the business end of a Navas cross in the 62nd minute (and maybe should have buried it). Silva also was clattered into by Bayern defender Mehdi Benatia in the penalty area in the 83rd minute, though no spot-kick was given.
“Soon enough Aguero is apt to post a brace here and a hat trick there in Premier League play, and the reflexive reaction will be to overvalue Aguero's goals over Silva's less glamorous efforts because the goals are why the supporters come to the match.
“But the players come to the match to win, and City can win many matches with a healthy Silva whether Aguero plays or not.
“Without Silva, though, City's success ceiling begins to drop much closer to their floor.”
Joe Hart says Manchester City have to beat Chelsea after Champions League heartache
Goalkeeper says side must bounce back from Bayern Munich defeat by beating Premier League leaders at the Etihad on Sunday
Joe Hart claimed that Manchester City must arrest their slump against Chelsea on Sunday after Jérôme Boateng’s winner sealed a last-minute victory for Bayern Munich.
Despite a heroic performance by Hart against the German champions, Boateng’s late strike consigned his former team to defeat in their Champions League Group E opener and extended their winless run to three games in all competitions.
With the unbeaten Premier League leaders Chelsea due next at the Etihad Stadium, Manuel Pellegrini’s team go into the game already needing to halt the march of Jose Mourinho’s outfit. Hart admitted that the game on Sunday was the perfect encounter for City to prove their quality and kick-start their campaign.
“It doesn’t get any easier for us, but that’s the beauty of playing for this side, you get big game after big game,” the England goalkeeper, said.
“We like to think of ourselves as big-game players, so we need to step up again on Sunday. It’s a big week for us. We’ve not won for a little while, so we need to step up. We need to win, it’s a close Premier League, they are a title rival, and we need to beat them.”
With their group rivals Roma securing an emphatic 5-1 victory against CSKA Moscow in the Italian capital, City’s meeting with the Serie A outfit at the Etihad Stadium on Sept 30 is a crucial fixture for their hopes of progression to the knockout stages. But Hart insisted that City had no reason to be concerned about their qualification prospects.
“We can match Bayern Munich, but we have some very tough games now. We have to play well against CSKA and Roma now, but we’re confident we can win the rest of our games. We did OK here and looked like we were going to get a result out of it, which would have been a good start to the group away against a good side. But a nasty deflection at the end has done us and Boateng comes back to haunt us. It would have been a well-deserved draw because we made them work hard for everything. I tend to be busy against German teams, though.”
Hart insisted he took little pleasure from his own impressive display. “I’m not here for headlines. If I was, I would probably have quit. It would have been a good game if we had got the result. The only way it would be a good game for me would be if we win the group on goal difference.”
TOP 5 STAT BOLLOX
1) Bayern Munich scored their 800th goal in European football tonight. Only Barcelona (981) and Real Madrid (1,000) have more in history. Jerome notched the deciding strike in the dying moments. His fierce shot took a slight deflection off Mario Gotze before flying past Joe Hart.
2) Manchester City recorded just 433 passes (84% completion rate), compared to the 603 of Bayern (87% completion rate). The English outfit also proved far inferior in terms of possession, having maintained a 42% share of the ball.
3) The German outfit attempted an impressive 20 shots against the Citizens, with Hart saving his side on multiple occasions. The England international made seven saves in total, remaining unbeaten until the 90th minute. He has only made more in a Champions League or Premier League match for City four times before (vs Dortmund, Bayern, Real Madrid and Spurs).
4) City's David Silva completed an outstanding 98% of his 49 passes. He misplaced just one of his attempts to find a team-mate all evening. At the halfway stage he hadn't put a foot wrong, while he had created four chances.
5) Bayern's last ten Premier League goals have come against English opposition. 1-0 Man City (H), 3-1 Man United (H), 1-1 Man United (A), 1-1 Arsenal (H), 0-2 Arsenal (A), 2-3 Man City (H).
Arsenal are looking at the free-transfer market in a bid to ease their defensive problems. Former Everton defender Joseph Yobo, 34, and ex-West Brom centre-back Diego Lugano, 33, are among the players they have discussed. (DSSC)
The Gunners are also plotting to re-sign their former midfielder Lassana Diarra, 29, who is a free agent after leaving Lokomotiv Moscow. (Daily Express)
Chelsea and Liverpool are both keen to sign 18-year-old German midfielder Julian Brandt from Bayer Leverkusen. (Daily Mirror)
Juventus have cooled their interest in Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata, 26, and will instead compete with Arsenal and Liverpool to sign 27-year-old Barcelona playmaker Pedro. (Daily Express)
Ipswich are set to sign free agent Jack Collison, 25, after the midfielder was released by West Ham. (Sun)
Barnsley are considering a loan deal for Fulham striker Marcello Trotta, 21. (Daily Star)
Southampton striker Emmanuel Mayuka, 23, is poised to drop down a division to join Wolves on loan. (Talkshit)
Tony Pulis, 56, is ready to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Cardiff City - if the 41-year-old Norwegian is sacked as manager. (Times)
Paul Hartley, the 37-year-old Dundee manager, has emerged as the surprise front-runner to replace Solskjaer. (Guardian)
Former Tottenham coach Tim Sherwood, 45, is a contender to become Lokomotiv Moscow manager. (Sun - subscription required)
Midfielder Mikel Arteta, 32, has told his Arsenal team-mates they can forget about winning the Champions League if they play like they did against Borussia Dortmund again. (Independent)
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says left-back Danny Rose, 24, has been left out of his squad to play Partizan Belgrade for football reasons, and not because he was subjected to racial abuse in Serbia, while playing for England Under-21s two years ago. (Sky Sports Understands)
Sturm Graz coach Darko Milanic, 46, is the front-runner for the vacant manager's job at Leeds United. (Daily Mirror)
One of Cardiff, Glasgow and Dublin is likely to find out it has been unsuccessful in its bid to host Euro 2020 games when the venues are announced on Friday. (DSSC)
West Ham assistant boss Neil McDonald, 48, has turned down the chance to become Carlisle manager for a second time. (Cumberland News & Star)
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes Mario Balotelli needs time to adapt at Anfield, but says the 24-year-old striker showed on the club's Champions League return that he is willing to meet the demands required. (Guardian)
Rodgers says Balotelli has been taking lessons in the history of the club's great strikers including Luis Suarez, 27, who was sold to Barcelona in the summer. (Liverpool Echo)
Barcelona celebrated the 14th anniversary of Argentina forward Lionel Messi's arrival by tweeting a picture of his original playing licence, when he was aged 13.
Liverpool owner John W Henry showed his sense of humour on Twitter after posting a link to an article about the "God particle". After being inundated with messages from Reds fans asking him about a move for Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus, 25, he added: "Oh and sign Reus!"
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge confirmed on Twitter that he had returned to light training following his recent thigh injury. "Pushing myself to my limit right now for real. Closer to fitness each day!!" the 25-year-old tweeted.
Manchester United stars Radamel Falcao, Juan Mata and Marcos Rojo have been taught a lesson in football freestyling - by a mysterious Samurai. (Metro)
MORE BOLLOX SOON
