“They develop young players into future stars and when they are established they generally move to other clubs so it’s not easy for them but that said, I think they have a really good side just now”.
Advertisement
Pellegrini will hope to see an instant return to form as they host Borussia Monchengladbach in their final Champions League Group “D” game tonight.
The player is finally showing his potential it seems, as the runs he was consistently making were always positive but more importantly effective.
City have been eliminated in the last 16 by Barcelona in each of the last two seasons after finishing second in their pool, but Pellegrini wants a sense of perspective given that Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea could all still be eliminated before the knockout stages.
City conceded top spot in the Premier League following a 2-0 defeat at Stoke City on Saturday and must now contend with a Gladbach team revelling in the feat of becoming the first team to defeat Bayern Munich in this season’s Bundesliga.
After their 2-0 victory, Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: “We played with an energetic three in midfield, we were on the front foot in midfield and we unsettled them”. “We have the knowledge that we have just taken on and beaten the best team in the world”.
Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, Fernando, Martin Demichelis, Pablo Zabaleta and Samir Nasri are all absent.
If you can’t see the game in full ITV will show highlights of all the night’s games, including City against Borussia and Sevilla v Juventus, in their highlights show.
With Borussia Monchengladbach netting 17 times in six road trips under Schubert and striking ten times in their last three contests at all venues, they should have no trouble notching at the Etihad Stadium, where Man City have competed ten times since last keeping a clean sheet.
The Chilean added: “They [Borussia] have played very well recently in the Bundesliga”. It depends on the performance of individual players, it depends on a lot of things.
“If we don’t win, I think we qualify but not in the way we wanted”.
“The fact it went so well, perhaps we didn’t even expect that”.
Pellegrini has Yaya Toure back while Sergio Aguero is still sidelined with a heel injury, although Pellegrini hopes to get him fit for the weekend league clash with Swansea.
Advertisement
And Gladbach arrive in buoyant mood having brought an end to Bayern Munich’s unbeaten record this season thanks to an emphatic 3-1 win.
