For a while, watching from the balcony overlooking one of Manchester City’s training pitches, it was tempting to wonder whether the tall, straight-backed figure running from the front was trying to make a point in front of the small army of cameramen on the far side. Vincent Kompany led the way, as he always likes to do on those group runs. His chest was puffed out and his stride looked so sure it was easy in those moments to think he saw himself being restored to the team for the match the club’s marketing department has billed as “unmissable”.
That he was subsequently ruled out of the Paris Saint-Germain tie on account of his weakened calf does not necessarily have to be a grievous setback for City, but it is a considerable one when their hopes of reaching a first Champions League semi-final depend to a great extent on the team’s ability to defend coherently.
If they can manage that, Manuel Pellegrini’s side ought to be in a position of strength on the basis of their away goals in Parc des Princes last Wednesday and the statistic that Laurent Blanc’s men have to overcome about there being only a one-in-five ratio of teams qualifying in Uefa club competitions after drawing 2-2 at home in the first leg. In total, it has happened only 57 times out of 277 attempts and, on that basis, the disappointment for City would be immense should they surrender their small, yet crucial, advantage.
At the same time, it is not easy second-guessing Pellegrini’s teams when they have been so flawed in the Premier League this season and it cannot be overlooked that Chelsea returned from Paris with an encouraging 1-1 draw last year and still went out 3-3 on aggregate, even though Zlatan Ibrahimovic was sent off barely half an hour into the return leg.
Kompany might have become increasingly accident-prone in line with his recurring injury issues, but his understudies are all notably worse, by varying degrees, and in the absence of their most accomplished organiser there can be only one reason why the club’s supporters will presumably be desperate for Nicolás Otamendi to partner Eliaquim Mangala in the centre of their back four. Otamendi, who missed training with a sprained ankle, can be rash, impetuous and has a tendency – much like Mangala, you might think – to undermine his previous good work with bewildering passages where he suddenly seems to forget he is supposed to be one of the world’s most expensive defenders. He is, nonetheless, an upgrade on Martín Demichelis, who has not been trusted since his frailties were exposed in full in the Manchester derby.
Whoever plays, City are guaranteed a challenging night given that PSG won their fourth successive domestic title with a couple of months to spare and currently have a 28-point lead in Ligue 1, with 83 goals from 33 games. City, in stark contrast, are 15 points adrift of Leicester City at the top of the Premier League and the imbalance of their results does not entirely spread confidence. Against bottom-half teams Pellegrini’s men have the best figures in the league, winning 15 out of 18 games and drawing the other three. But compare that to the nine points they have taken from 13 games against top-half sides; the third-worst record in the league.
The accusation is that City have mastered the art of beating lesser teams but do not have the nerve for more difficult assignments. Pellegrini, however, was dismissive when it was pointed out to him that PSG might be encouraged by the five defeats his team have already suffered on their own ground. “It doesn’t matter what has happened in other games in England,” he said. “What matters is that we played a very equal game in Paris. Before we played in Paris a lot of media thought we didn’t have any chance to continue and we demonstrated we have the same level as Paris.”
For Pellegrini, a place in the semi-finals would go a long way to removing some of the criticism that has attached itself to his final season as manager, but the real story for City is what it could do to invigorate the club on two fronts.
Firstly, seeing off a team with PSG’s growing reputation would represent City’s finest achievement in Europe of the modern era, and the biggest scalp yet for a club where it still feels suspiciously like they have an inferiority complex in this competition. Secondly, it might help to convince the club’s fans that the Champions League is a competition to embrace when, until this point, it has been an awkward relationship. “The fans, for different reasons, have not been 100% in this competition but as we continue further they will be,” Pellegrini said.
Would he encourage them to stop booing the Uefa competition anthem? “It depends if you are superstitious,” he replied. “If you are superstitious, we have been winning when they boo.” Not, though, in knockout ties against one of Europe’s superpowers. That is the challenge for City and it is one that if they pass it could change the way they look at this competition for good.
