Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists there is still plenty to play for in Champions League Group D despite his side’s 1-0 defeat at Juventus.
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Sevilla, beaten 4-2 at Borussia Moenchengladbach, must beat Juventus in their last game and hope the Germans lose to City so they finish third in the group and go into the Europa League.
City were guilty of having spurned a number of good chances in Wednesday’s game and Toure also says the visitors could have clinched at least a point had they been more ruthless in front of goal.
“I think we were very unlucky to lose this game – I think the minimum we deserved was a draw”.
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Pellegrini also lamented missed chances from his team after Fernandinho and Raheem Sterling passed up gilt-edged opportunities.
“He has a problem with his hamstring and has had a problem in his back for the past week”.
The England forward looked set to keep City in control of the race for top spot but he scuffed a left-footed shot wide from De Bruyne’s low cross with the goal gaping. Last year, Man City, despite beating Bayern Munich in the group stages, faced Barca in the first knock-out stage and lost out.
Saints have the chance to bag themselves a small piece of history at Manchester City on Saturday – but will have to overcome their recent Etihad Stadium hoodoo to achieve it.
City forwards Wilfried Bony, David Silva and Samir Nasri are all still sidelined but the absence of Belgian center-back and captain Vincent Kompany was most felt as Juventus went two points clear of City ahead of the sides’ final games next month.
“Mario was very good tonight”, Buffon said. Winning in Italy against a team which reached the UEFA Champions League final last time out would be an important moment for this team. “We all know the philosophy that we have and we’ll try and play our game there”.
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“I made the decision to field Mandzukic a couple of days ago, we needed a player with his characteristics”, Allegri said in a touchline television interview. If we want to arrive to important stages of not only the Champions League, but all competitions we play, we need Sergio fit.
