Barry’s braced for Euro exit
Posted Monday, December 05, 2011 by The Sun
MANCHESTER CITY are preparing themselves for some rare disappointment this season with an early exit from the Champions League.
They have a five-point lead in the Premier League, are in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup and are preparing to defend the FA Cup. But Europe has brought mainly pain.
Defeat in Naples a fortnight ago means they must beat group winners Bayern Munich at home on Wednesday — and hope Napoli fail to triumph against bottom and pointless Villarreal in Spain.
It is not likely — yet City's England midfielder Gareth Barry said: "We're confident. We believe that Villarreal have got the team that can get a result.
"But the bottom line is we've got to beat a very good team over here in Bayern Munich, so that will be a hard target in itself.
"That will be our main aim. It's tough but we can do it and it's just fingers crossed that Villarreal can do a job for us."
But City are braced for the worst.
Barry admitted: "We're not going to lie and say we can concentrate on the league. It would be a big disappointment but it's the first time the club has been in the Champions League.
"Although we feel we've got the quality to progress, it is another learning curve.
"New players have come in and the ones that have been here for an extra year have got used to the Premier League — everyone is stepping up to the plate this year."
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