Kompany says Manchester City can still progress in Europe - 7M sport

Kompany says Manchester City can still progress in Europe



Posted Friday, November 07, 2014 by skysports.com

Kompany says Manchester City can still progress in Europe
Vincent Kompany: All is not lost.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is not ready to give up on their Champions League dreams despite their latest dismal defeat.

The reigning Premier League champions are bottom of Group E with just two points from four games after slumping to a 2-1 loss to CSKA Moscow at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.

Fernandinho and Yaya Toure were also sent off as City endured one of the worst nights in the club's recent history.

They will now be eliminated if they fail to beat Bayern Munich in their next match and if there is a winner in the simultaneous clash between CSKA and Roma.

Having reached the last 16 for the first time last season, City had hoped to build on that success - but Kompany does not think their ambitions of doing that should be written off just yet.

The Belgium skipper said: "I am the captain and if no-one else believes any more, I am the one who believes we might just have a chance. We do have a chance.

"There are internationals between now and our next game in the Champions League. That gives us some time to clear our heads, come back, and see how much we still have to play for. That is what we have to look at."

City are still relative newcomers on the biggest stage having only entered the Champions League for the first time in 2011.

Kompany said: "Let's put things into perspective - we are not a club that has been there for 20-odd years.

"We are trying to put down milestones every year and so far we have been quite successful at that. You don't just go from never playing in the Champions League to winning it. There is a process.

"Everyone will jump on the bandwagon, but I am going to go the other way and say I still believe in my team, and still back everyone at this club 100 per cent to turn it around.

"But personality will have to show in the next games, otherwise we will have to wait another year, and no-one at this club wants that."

City exited at the group stages in their first two seasons in the competition but that was put down to experience. Last season was supposed to indicate the start of a shift in momentum as they advanced for the first time.

This term, however, they appear to have gone backwards in Europe with Wednesday's result coming against a team they beat 5-2 at the same stage last year.

Pre-match odds of 9/1 for a CSKA victory gave an indication of expectation levels and Kompany accepted the performance was not good enough.

The 28-year-old added: "I think the result says enough. There is no way we can afford to lose points against a team we should beat every day, especially at home.

"But it happened and somehow you need to turn towards the future again. I am completely proud of how we played when we were down to nine men. Anyone that saw those last 20 minutes will see everyone gave everything they had. You can't debate that."



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