Verdict on new Champions League formatpublished at 14:59 29 January
14:59 29 January
Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown and BBC Sport's John Bennett join Ben Croucher on The Football News Show to discuss why they feel the revamped Champions League format has been a success and why we should be excited by the final round of group games on Wednesday.
In a repeat of the 2023 final, City dominated possession and took 22 shots, creating 2.35 xG - but faced a stubborn Inter side and had to settle for a point.
Image source, Getty Images
Pep Guardiola's side then got back on track, with the type of victories fans have become accustomed to - a 4-0 win in Slovakia against Slovan Bratislava and 5-0 at home against Sparta Prague, which included some Erling Haaland acrobatics.
They moved third in the table and seemed well set to make a bid for automatic qualification through to the last 16.
Image source, Getty Images
However, City then travelled to Portugal to take on Ruben Amorim's Sporting side, and, despite taking a fourth-minute lead through Phil Foden, a hat-trick from former Coventry striker Viktor Gyokeres helped condemn City to a 4-1 defeat.
Image source, Getty Images
Three weeks later, they blew a three-goal lead at home to Feyenoord.
Ilkay Gundogan and an Erling Haaland double had put City in a comfortable position against the Dutch side only for Feyenoord to find three goals in the final 15 minutes to rescue a 3-3 draw.
Image source, Getty Images
This was followed by consecutive defeats - 2-0 to Juventus at the Allianz Stadium and 4-2 to PSG - another game where City relinquished a lead.
Fortunately for City, despite what has been a wretched Champions League campaign, qualification remains in their hands.
City out to avoid European and financial painpublished at 08:52 29 January
08:52 29 January
Simon Stone Chief football news reporter
Image source, Getty Images
Not since the 2012-13 season, when Sir Alex Ferguson was still Manchester United manager and Roberto Mancini was in charge, have Manchester City exited the first phase of the Champions League.
Pep Guardiola has never had that experience in his entire managerial career. But that is the fate which awaits if they fail to beat Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium.
Guardiola did not react well in his press conference yesterday when asked if going out would be an 'embarrassment'.
"Ask me the question after," he said. "Thank you for your concern but after the game I will answer you."
He had already said: "I think we will do it."
City have spent £123m on three transfers of senior players this month, none of whom can play against Club Brugge this evening.
They do not have any problems meeting current Profit and Sustainability regulations as they have sold so well over the years.
However, there will be a financial hit if they fail to make it through.
The winner of the tournament will get around €25m (£20.95m) and clubs reaching the last 16 will receive €11m (£9.22m) in prize money alone.
It is a hefty sum to miss out on.
"I didn't speak with my CEO about that," Guardiola added. "I would say the budget is positive but I'm not naive enough to know how important this competition is financially for the club.
"But we want to try and go though for sporting reasons."
'Don't let your Guard down' - Wednesday's back pagespublished at 08:33 29 January
08:33 29 January
Image source, Daily Express, Daily Mirror and Daily Star
With Manchester City's crunch Champions League game against Club Brugge on Wednesday night, it is no surprise to see boss Pep Guardiola leading the newspaper back pages.
The Daily Express have focused on City's need to win to remain in this season's competition, while the Mirror and Star highlight Guardiola's belief that his side can get the three points they need.
The requirement for City is simple - now, they just have to do it on the pitch.
Gossip: City want Luiz loanpublished at 07:38 29 January
07:38 29 January
Manchester City are interested in signing Juventus and Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz, 26, on loan, but the Serie A club want to insert a purchase obligation clause in any temporary deal. (Mail, external)
City midfielder James McAtee, 22, is no longer a target for Bayer Leverkusen, with the Bundesliga side set to sign Argentina playmaker Emiliano Buendia, 28, from Aston Villa. (Florian Plettenberg, external)
Finally, City face a race against time to sign Andrea Cambiaso, 24, as Juventus will only make a final decision on the Italy full-back's future after Wednesday's Champions League match against Benfica. (Give Me Sport, external)
Are Man City short on Champions League game-changers?published at 19:26 28 January
19:26 28 January
Although Oscar Bobb is fit to play some part against Club Brugge in Manchester City's must-win Champions League group game, with the likes of Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias and Jeremy Doku injured, plus new signings unable to play, does Pep Guardiola have enough depth to change the game if the result is not going their way?
Amos Murphy from the City Ramble tells The Football News Show why that is "a red flag" - but also why he backs the players who are fit to see them through to the Champions League play-offs.
'It might even be more difficult because of the situation they are in'published at 18:50 28 January
18:50 28 January
Image source, Getty Images
Club Brugge goalkeeper Simon Mignolet expects it to be a "tough night whatever the situation" Manchester City are in when the two sides meet in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Belgians have won three of their group games so far, including at home against Aston Villa, and held Juventus to a goalless draw last week. City must get three points to progress to the play-offs for a place in the last 16.
Club Brugge are three points ahead of Pep Guardiola's side going into the game at Etihad Stadium.
"We want to qualify to go to the play-off round, which would be an unbelievable performance and achievement for us," said former Liverpool player Mignolet.
"We don't have to look at what the reasons are for Manchester City being in the situation they are in. We only know that when you have to come to the Etihad, it's going to be a tough night, whatever situation they're in.
"Maybe it might even be more difficult because of the situation they are in."
'Our confidence is good' ahead of big Club Brugge gamepublished at 13:56 28 January
13:56 28 January
Image source, Getty Images
Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol says their "confidence is good" after beating Chelsea on Saturday but they need to stick together if they are to progress in the Champions League.
If City win at home to Club Brugge on Wednesday, then Pep Guardiola's side will scrape into the play-offs. If they draw or lose to Club Brugge, City will be out and their European campaign will be all over before the end of January.
"We all need to stick together, to try and get out of this together," said Gvardiol. "We are in a good way."
"We want to qualify for the next stage and I think our confidence is good, especially after our last home game. We're going to have huge support from our fans so I think we're going to be ready."
City need to win - then check the tablepublished at 13:43 28 January
13:43 28 January
Josko Gvardiol says he prefers the old Champions League format.
It was certainly easier to work out what was going to happen in the knockout stages, when you knew the top two from each group went through.
For Manchester City supporters, the demand for victory against Club Brugge tomorrow will quickly be placed by an assessment of where their club is going to finish and who they will play if they do go through.
As City are presently outside the top 24, it is hard to even hazard a guess as to who Pep Guardiola's side will play if they make it through.
We do know they can finish no higher than 19th in the 36-team table, so whoever they get, the first leg next month will be at home.
If they win, they will definitely finish above Club Brugge. But also, as PSG and Stuttgart play each other, both are on 10 points and both, currently, are in the top 24, so City will finish ahead of at least one of them. So a win gets them to 22nd. In addition, Benfica have a tough looking game at Juventus.
So, best guess, a win for City will see them finish 21st which, as it presently stands, would mean a play off with Feyenoord or Lille, who are 11th and 12th. But it probably won't stay like that.
Guardiola on Bobb, qualifying for play-offs and 'thinking we're going to do it'published at 13:01 28 January
13:01 28 January
Katie Stafford BBC Sport journalist
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's must-win Champions League game against Club Brugge at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Winger Jeremy Doku is unavailable and will be out injured "for a while". However, Oscar Bobb, who has not played since 10 August, is likely to return to the matchday squad.
Guardiola said "we will see" when asked if John Stones will play.
On needing a victory to remain in the competition: "It is not a problem. It's an opportunity - a challenge - and we will face it."
He said he "is not thinking" about not qualifying and instead: "I'm thinking we're going to do it."
On the Belgian opponents: "They haven't lost a game in 20 games. They are consistent, solid, aggressive and don't concede chances. We have to perform really well to win the game."
He said he does not feel City have turned a corner yet "because it's been only a few games" of better results.
In response to whether he would be embarrassed if his side go out: "Thank you for your concern about whether we are going out. But you can concern me after the game and I will answer you."
He said he is "not naive enough to not know how important it is financially for the club to go through" but the sporting, not the financial reasons, are more important to him.
Man City v Club Brugge: Did you know?published at 12:33 28 January
12:33 28 January
Image source, Getty Images
Club Brugge have never won away to English opposition in European competition in 14 previous attempts. Only Anderlecht (19) and Dynamo Kyiv (15) have played more matches without winning in England.
Meanwhile, Erling Haaland has scored eight goals in four Champions League appearances against Belgian opponents, including four against Club Brugge - an average of a goal every 33 minutes.
'Just the beginning of drastic' Man City rebuildpublished at 17:40 27 January
17:40 27 January
Freddie Pye Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
When the January transfer window arrives, very few Manchester City fans get their hopes up when it comes to new faces coming straight into Pep Guardiola's first-team.
However, off the back of a torrid run of form that has largely seen City exit the race for a fifth consecutive Premier League title, and languish towards the bottom of the Champions League, the club hierarchy knew they had to get to work on the next generation of Guardiola's side.
That is exactly what has happened.
Saturday evening gave us our first glimpse into the future and, the opening five minutes aside, you can see exactly why Txiki Begiristain and his colleagues invested so heavily in Abdukodir Khusanov and Omar Marmoush.
The 20-year-old Uzbek brought exactly what was anticipated - a somewhat raw and developing defender who shone in French football and will have no problem getting to grips with the English game's physicality, speed, and unpredictability.
His desire to get involved in tackling and shoulder-to-shoulder battles will make him a firm fan favourite at City for years to come. That started immediately with the emphatic show of support for Khusanov after a difficult opening 54 minutes.
Then there's Marmoush - the Bundesliga's "best player", in the words of Begiristain. Hardly short of confidence, sharp in attacking phases, an eye for goal and bringing exactly the sort of fresh impetus that this existing crop of players desperately needed. It will help keep their season alive and drive them into a new era after the campaign comes to a close.
This is just the beginning of a drastic and much-needed rebuild. It is certainly exciting and a firm reminder that Guardiola's vision will remain for years to come, perhaps long beyond the reign of the Catalan mastermind.
Darren: Good solid performance after a shaky start. Still more room for improvement to get back to the solid City performances but it's looking like they could have turned the corner and get back on solid winning ways. New signings are looking good even despite the horrible mistake made by young defender Abdukodir Khusanov. Nerves and no training time with the team were probably the reason for his mistake. All in all, a good performance with good signs of City's fighting spirit back again.
Brian: The comeback kids did it again today. City played at a higher pace and with belief. This was good and the possession was effective. Phil Foden has found his mojo again.
Gene: Omar Marmoush played very well - he's going to be a problem for opposing teams. Khusanov made a mistake that should have been handled by Manuel Akanji. I do not like Matheus Nunes at the back and hope there's a replacement soon. With the speed we have up front, the long ball should be used more often with effectiveness for a quick counter.
Kevin: Awesome performance from Josko Gvardiol. Was also great to see Bernardo Silvahelping out the new lad after his nightmare start.
Chelsea fans
Jerry: Enzo Maresca is out of his depth as this game was there for the taking. Three players off a title-challenging team at least. Our goalkeeper needs putting out of his, and our, misery.
James: This was probably the most disappointing performance from Chelsea I've seen in a while. The inability to see that Man City were there for the taking and gradually let the game drift to another toothless defeat should worry those at the club. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory springs to mind.
Steve: Chelsea are a work in progress. Nothing more. Unfortunately they won't really go on to anything while having a keeper like Robert Sanchez who almost guarantees letting a goal in every game and a main striker who needs seven or eight games to get a goal.
Mike: At the start of the season, I was unsure about Maresca. Then we started stringing together results and I thought maybe I've been proven wrong. There's a frightening pattern of stepping back after a 1-0 lead and not trying to kill off the game early. Maresca is stubborn in not changing his style of play and persisting with Sanchez in goal. It's time for Maresca to go.
'I tried to protect him' - Akanji on Khusanov's tricky startpublished at 13:01 26 January
13:01 26 January
Image source, Getty Images
Manchester City's Manuel Akanji says he "tried to protect" new signing Abdukodir Khusanov after his fellow defender endured a difficult start to his debut in Sunday's 3-1 win over Chelsea.
Khusanov misjudged a header back to goalkeeper Ederson which allowed the Blues to open the scoring and was booked for a rash lunge on Cole Palmer within the first four minutes.
However, City recovered to secure an important win and the 20-year-old, who signed for £33.6m from French club Lens earlier this week, had the support of Akanji who started alongside him in central defence.
"I tried to protect him and not bring him into situations where it could be really tricky, especially against a team like Chelsea who have so many good individual players," the Switzerland international said post-match.
"I just tried to lift him up and tell him not to think too much but to keep on going, maybe play the safer pass back to Eddy [Ederson] in his next action and win his next duel to get his confidence back. I think that's the only thing you can really do.
"Obviously it wasn't a good start but I think he recovered really well. It's not easy to play first match here at home against Chelsea. Even after that, we tried to lift him up, and I think he did well after that. He showed his best, and he has got plenty more games to show."
City boss Pep Guardiola said he will "have to learn Russian or Uzbek" to communicate with Khusanov because of his lack of English, but Akanji believes the language barrier will not be an issue for long.
"He says he understands English better than French so I speak English with him," he added.
"I think he will improve his English - he needs to because we need to communicate. It's especially important as centre-backs so we can help our teammates around us.
"I think he understands a lot. He can't really talk good yet but it will come definitely."
Catch up on the Premier League actionpublished at 11:31 26 January
11:31 26 January
Highlights and analysis from Saturday's six Premier League fixtures are now available to watch.