Manchester City can't just pass their way to Champions League glory

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I keep hearing people say that you have to play in a different way now in the Champions League, but, to be honest, that is nonsense
Why should you try to beat foreign teams playing on their terms when they find the strengths of our game so difficult to deal with?
I remember what it was like when Liverpool were in Europe. I won the UEFA Cup and Champions League and played in another final but I don’t ever remember us taking on a top team and out-footballing them
Whether it was Gerard Houllier or Rafa Benitez the message was the same: European opponents hated playing against fast, aggressive, physical football
When I watch them at the Etihad, the pace and the atmosphere can resemble a pre-season friendly. It can't continue

Published: 16:47 EST, 18 September 2015 | Updated: 20:35 EST, 18 September 2015

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Why don’t they get it? As the latest bad week for English clubs in the Champions League unfolded, I kept asking myself that question about Manchester City.

With the squad they have assembled and the money that has been spent, games at the Etihad Stadium should be one of the most daunting tasks in Europe but that is far from the case and Juventus were the latest visiting team to find it all too comfortable.

Is it the Champions League theme being played before kick-off rather than Blue Moon that sets the tone? Do supporters feel they belong in the competition or are they still in awe of the teams they are coming up against?

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Juventus celebrate victory at the Etihad after dishing out another painful European lesson for City

David Silva tussles with Stefano Sturaro as City's Champions League campaign again started with defeat

Whatever the reason, you get the impression that when the Champions League comes around for City it is like a night at the opera — the fans turn up, take their seats quietly and sit back to watch the action unfold in front of them. It is all too nice.

It doesn’t work like that. I keep hearing people say that you have to play in a different way now in the Champions League, but, to be honest, that is nonsense. Why should you try to beat foreign teams playing on their terms when they find the strengths of our game so difficult to deal with?

I remember what it was like when Liverpool were in Europe. I won the UEFA Cup and Champions League and played in another final but I don’t ever remember us taking on a top team and out-footballing them.

Whether it was Gerard Houllier or Rafa Benitez — two foreign managers who were in charge of teams made up largely of foreign players — the message would be the same: European opponents hated playing against fast, aggressive, physical football.

We would go away from home and play by our opponents’ rules: we would allow them to set the pace but we would defend as one and look to frustrate the crowd.

Anfield is whipped into a frenzy ahead of the UEFA Cup semi-final with Barcelona in 2001

Gary McAllister hit the only goal of the game to seal Liverpool's progress to the final with Alaves

Of course, we would hardly get a kick and have to sacrifice ourselves but back at Anfield it would be completely different.

From the first whistle, we were like caged tigers. I always wanted to make my first tackle count, to shake whoever I was marking and lift the crowd. For the first 20 minutes, our goalkeepers would kick the ball long so we could hem in whoever we were playing and make it as uncomfortable as possible. The pressure would build that way. You would make every second ball a fight, if there was a set-piece, it would be delivered straight into the penalty area. The tempo would whip up the crowd, they would become our extra man and they would feed off the energy.

It was no surprise we scored a lot of goals in those frenzied opening periods. A game against Juventus in 2005 was a prime example. The side Fabio Capello picked for our Champions League quarter-final was much better than the one which City faced, as the spine of Gianluigi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro, Pavel Nedved, Alessandro Del Piero and Zlatan Ibrahimovic shows.

Could we have beaten Juventus at their own game? No. But they found themselves two goals down after 25 minutes, with Sami Hyypia volleying in from a corner and Luis Garcia smashing in a volley after a long ball fell into his path.

Juventus never recovered from that opening blitz and we progressed to face Chelsea.

Sami Hyypia gave Liverpool a lead they did not look like relinquishing as they got off to a blistering start

Luis Garcia hits the second as Rafa Benitez's side continued their march toward a fifth European crown

But Liverpool were not the only English team to enjoy success with that tactic. Chelsea made full use of Didier Drogba’s physicality in Europe, Manchester United would make games as fast as possible at Old Trafford under Sir Alex Ferguson and he’d make sure the game was played to their strengths.

That’s what I don’t understand now about Manchester City. I could appreciate them being tentative when they first entered the Champions League — plenty of other English clubs had been the same — but now they have experience, their home record of five wins in 15 games should be much better.

When I watch them at the Etihad, the pace and the atmosphere can resemble a pre-season friendly. It can’t continue. They have explosive, aggressive players and there are times in the Champions League when they need to be even more dynamic than they are in Premier League games.

It is what the crowd demands. Manuel Pellegrini has seen his team destroy sides at home regularly in recent years and so it is baffling — with the exception of coming from behind to beat Bayern Munich last November — why they have not been doing similar things in Europe. The only thing that really changes on a Champions League night is the referee; foreign officials will be more inclined to penalise things that a Premier League referee would let go, but on the other side of that, whipping the crowd into a frenzy can also influence the decisions a home team gets.

Sergio Aguero wheels away after completing his hat-trick against Bayern Munich during a blistering display

Manuel Pellegrini could only call on Aguero from the subs bench during the disappointing defeat to Juventus

If City fail to involve their fans in their remaining home group games against Borussia Monchengladbach and Sevilla, they are going to continue to have big problems making an impression in the competition in which their owners are most keen for them to make an impact.

For the money that our clubs have invested, we should really be dominating the European game but this latest round of games has left us with little to shout about. City fans have been feeling that way for too long and it is about time it changed.

Ivanovic can't be risked against Arsenal

Jose Mourinho's team selection for the Champions League game against Maccabi Tel Aviv ensured he stayed in the headlines all week.

There is a big difference, however, between not selecting John Terry, Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic for a fixture that Chelsea could have won in second gear and leaving them out of a potentially season-defining game against Arsenal today.

If Terry, Matic and Costa were not to start in the clash with Arsene Wenger’s men, you could legitimately say they have been dropped. I don’t, though, expect any of them to miss out against Arsenal.

No matter how those three have been playing, there is no way Mourinho will be without them for this one.

John Terry (centre) and Branislav Ivanovic (right) were among the names rested to play Maccabi Tel Aviv

Ivanovic has struggled of late and should be dropped for the vital encounter against Arsenal

Ivanovic is a different case and Mourinho should drop him at Stamford Bridge. The full back made a fair point after the defeat by Everton that Chelsea’s problems should not be blamed solely on their defence — they have not been given great protection by the midfield — but his form has been poor. Could Mourinho really risk him at right back against Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal’s best player, who will be running at him from the left flank? Cesar Azpilicueta — Chelsea’s best defender — would be a far better choice, with Baba Rahman slotting in at left back.

Rahman would be left to face Aaron Ramsey but he wouldn’t be getting the same kind of examination that Sanchez provides.

He won’t have much one-against-one defending to do for the first hour of what will be an intriguing afternoon.

Man of the week: Jamie Vardy

I made the Leicester striker the subject of this section 12 months ago after he had dazzled against Manchester United. I raised the question back then about whether he could sustain his form.

The fact I am singling him out again shows that he has answered those initial questions and he is going from strength to strength.

The performance of Riyad Mahrez was rightly acclaimed in the 3-2 win over Aston Villa but do not overlook the contribution of Vardy, who scored the equaliser.

Riyad Mahrez has dazzled the Premier League with four goals and matchwinning performances

Jamie Vardy has progressed well and can expect to be named in future England squads if his form continues

He is aggressive and refuses to accept second best and that is why he has been capped by England and, more significantly, why he is firmly in contention for a place in the squad for next summer’s European Championship.

Teams tend to take four strikers to a tournament and if Roy Hodgson was picking his 23 names for France today, Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge and Harry Kane would take the first three places but Vardy would be right alongside them.

A lot can happen between now and June but Vardy’s determination to keep improving can only enhance his prospects of being in on the day that matters.

Another goal at Stoke would ensure he stays firmly in Hodgson’s sights.