City suffer final indignity of missing Europa League
BORUSSIA DORTMUND 1
MANCHESTER CITY 0
MANCHESTER City manager Roberto Mancini admits his side have taken a step backwards after defeat to Borussia Dortmund last night saw them fail to even qualify for the Europa League.
The lacklustre loss condemned City to a successive Champions League group stage exit, but this time without a single win – the worst performance ever in the competition by any English club.
“I think last season we did better,” said Mancini. “This year we had a very difficult group but if you make mistakes in the first two or three games it is difficult. We are not in the Europa League, and for this we should be disappointed.”
Dortmund deserved their victory, forcing City goalkeeper Joe Hart into reaction saves before Julian Schieber slid in Jakub Blaszczykowski’s fine cross on the hour.
Striker Edin Dzeko wasted a free header for City with a rare chance for the away side, who missed the injured David Silva and Yaya Toure through suspension.
Mancini believes European disaster could help City’s domestic ambitions, with rivals Manchester United visiting on Sunday.
He added: “This can help us for the Premier League but we don’t play in the Europa League and we wanted to try and play in the Europa League.”