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Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini upbeat despite defeat and Joe Hart injury

City were beaten 1-0 in Turin to lose control of Group D, slipping to second behind the Italians and facing the prospect of yet another tough draw in the last 16.

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Gianluigi Buffon feels Juventus have shown they can hold their own against anyone in Europe following their 1-0 Champions League win over Manchester City on Wednesday.

The result meant Juventus leapfrogged City to top spot in group D and need only a draw from their final game against Spanish side Sevilla on December 8 to go through as group winners. “We hope that we will not lose him but if for some reason he can not play on Saturday, I have a lot of trust in Willy Caballero”.

“David improved a little bit more the last two days”.

Toure, who captained City as Vincent Kompany headed a lengthy injury list for Manuel Pellegrini’s side, looked on as his midfield team-mate Fernandinho spurned a golden opportunity to open the scoring shortly before Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic did just that in the 18th minute. “We always try to play better and better and to get more and more points all the time”.

Youngster Kelechi Iheanacho could gain some big-game experience in attack instead, or Raheem Sterling could play as a false nine with Gael Clichy coming in at left-back and AleksandarKolarov pushing forward into midfield.

“We have a hard situation”, Pellegrini said, when asked about injuries.

The goalkeeper was a second-half substitute against Juventus in yesterday’s Champions League defeat.

Pellegrini said: “It is impossible to know how serious Hart’s injury is”. Juventus, who lost to Barcelona in the last UCL finals will also have similar plans.

The City boss confirmed it was too early to tell whether the England worldwide was set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines but suggested his leg pain could be related to a back problem that has periodically troubled Hart over recent seasons.

Paulo Dybala hit the woodwork for the hosts while Joe Hart kept City in contention with fine saves from Mandzukic and Alvaro Morata, although the latter may have come at a cost.

“It’s not an easy stadium, it’s not an easy team, but we couldn’t get the result we wanted”.

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The Sky Blues have now failed to win three consecutive games for the first time this season.

Hart hamstring injury is'nothing


by
Setanta Staff, 26 November 2015