Compared to all our other European games, the match away at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday afternoon has added significance; it could define our European fortunes for the rest of the season. So far it’s not been the most successful of campaigns in group E with City without a win so far, having drawn at home to Roma and lost away to Bayern Munich. It already looks an uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages despite there still being four games left, but the two ties against CSKA seem key.
Even if we’re not going to qualify for the next round, these games still hold big importance. Finishing third in each group gives the chance to drop to the Europa League and whilst that does seem a bit of an inconvenience and just a waste of time, there is benefits it could bring that shouldn’t be overlooked. Obviously, the ideal situation would be to overtake Roma and finish second – thereby qualifying for the next round – but in the likely case that isn’t possible, Europa League is the next best thing.
I think the Europa League is looked down upon by a lot of people, is thought to not have that much significance. Given how prestigious the Champions League is, its little brother is bound to seem second-rate in comparison. But think about it – how much of a confidence boost would winning a European trophy be?
On a statistical level, winning the Europa League could be beneficial for our Champions League chances next season. UEFA have finally decided to change the seeding system, meaning from next year the winners of the top eight leagues in Europe (of which England is one) will be guaranteed a place in Pot 1, but below that they’ll be continuing to use co-efficients to decide who is placed where. Chelsea look set to storm to the title, so if we were to win the Europa League (if we didn’t manage to qualify for the knockout stages) then it would help our choices of being placed in a higher pot and hopefully avoiding another Group Of Death situation.
It might not be the Champions League, but one thing we’ve seemed to lack in European games against the bigger sides is confidence in ourselves. We saw it a lot in the Roma game, a lack of confidence in our abilities that led to our play being stagnated quite a bit and in the end we were punished for it. But if we won the Europa League that could just give us a boost in future Champions League editions, that “we can do it” boost that’ll be vital if we ever plan to go all the way.
Finishing third might not be such an easy task if we don’t concentrate on the two games in front of us: CSKA Moscow. Our next two European games are against the Russian side who are our main competitors for the third place in group E and they will be keen to show they’re better than last year, that they can throw the English champions out of all European competition of their own accord.
Despite the drive they’ll have to try and knock us out, we need to go into Tuesday with a winning mentality. We’re on good form after the win against Spurs at the weekend, and need to take the same attitude into the game on the continent. There’s a run of a game every three days now for the next three weeks and if we can go into that on the back of wins against tough sides like Spurs and CSKA, we could really reap the benefits.
For the players, a win on Tuesday could be a massive confidence-booster. Not only because we’re winless in Europe this season, but also because the squad and coaching staff will be out there without any in-stadium support from City fans; the game is to be played behind closed doors due to UEFA’s punishment of CSKA for racist chants last season. Some City fans who’d already booked flights are renting out a flat in Moscow to watch the game like Bayern Munich fans did a few weeks ago, but there won’t be anyone in the ground cheering the players on. To win in that situation could be very pleasing for some of the players, and help them kick on in all competitions this year with some tough games coming up.
