Pellegrini’s best shot at finally pipping Pep
Guardiola tonight brings Bayern, the German and European champions, to the Etihad Stadium in the second round of fixtures in Group D.
Pellegrini is still to get the better of the former Barcelona boss, with whom he clashed regularly in Spain. Barcelona beat Pellegrini’s Real Madrid twice during the 2009-10 season, when the Catalans beat the Bernabeu giants to the title.
With Malaga, Pellegrini lost all four games against Barca between 2010 and 2012. His only inkling of success against Guardiola was a 3-3 draw at the Nou Camp with Villarreal in 2009.
Now in charge at City, Pellegrini has a much more impressive squad at his disposal but his only concern is eking three points out of them and not outmanoeuvring Guardiola.
The Chilean said: “It’s always about the players. I don’t play against Pep Guardiola. It is Bayern against Manchester City.
“The key is always the performance of the important players. They must appear in important games and normally it’s the key that makes the difference.”
City are finally hoping to make an impression in the Champions League after premature exits in the past two seasons.
They opened their latest campaign with a comfortable 3-0 win over Czech side Viktoria Plzen, but group favourites Bayern — who beat CSKA Moscow 3-0 in their first game — will provide a much sterner test.
Despite facing the champions’ fearsome attacking armoury, Pellegrini has no intention of playing safe.
He said: “We never think about a draw. Of course if we cannot win it’s better to draw than lose but we’re not going to go into the pitch thinking [of] a draw against Bayern.”
City striker Edin Dzeko has warned the visitors that City are now much tougher opponents on the European stage.
The two clubs met during City’s maiden Champions League campaign two years ago, with City beaten in Munich in a match which sparked an infamous row between Carlos Tevez and then boss Roberto Mancini.
Dzeko believes much has changed since then.
The Bosnian said: “We’ve played a few years together and we also have four new players and they’ve improved the squad.
“We’re definitely better this year than last.
“Now [we are] at home against the big rival in the group and we want to beat them and stay in the first position.”
City showed how well they can play when hammering arch-rivals Manchester United 4-1 in their last home game but came unstuck at Aston Villa on Saturday as they surrendered a 2-1 lead to lose 3-2.
Pellegrini said: “I always expect a big response.
“The last match we didn’t win but I am sure they will play at the [right] level — we know how to do it.”
City’s response could include Sergio Aguero and David Silva, who are both in contention after injuries.
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