SOCCER-CHAMPIONS/ROMA-MAN CITY REAX Roma and Man City react to Champions League match

Record ID: 256693

  • Title: SOCCER-CHAMPIONS/ROMA-MAN CITY REAX Roma and Man City react to Champions League match
  • Date: 11th December 2014
  • Summary: ROME, ITALY (DECEMBER 10, 2014) (REUTERS) POST-MATCH NEWS CONFERENCE WITH MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER MANUEL PELLEGRINI BEGINNING JOURNALIST AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER, MANUEL PELLEGRINI, SAYING: "Yes, I think so, I think today won the best team. I repeat, I think that Rome is a very good team and they play very, very well also but as I sa
  • Embargoed: 26th December 2014 12:00
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  • Location: Italy
  • Country: Italy
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7J09VHJX9DY1XFV529ZDUXDAB
  • Story Text: Manchester City concluded one of the great Champions League Houdini acts on Wednesday (December 10) as they qualified for the knockout stages with goals from Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta sinking Roma 2-0 to eliminate the Italians at the Stadio Olimpico.
    The Frenchman's 60th-minute thunderbolt, before he laid on a second for the Argentine in the 86th minute, ensured the English champions did not suffer another frustrating early exit in Group E.
    City's great escape into the last 16 seemed unthinkable when they trailed in their penultimate game at home to Bayern Munich with just five minutes remaining before Sergio Aguero completed his famous hat-trick.
    Victory or a score draw offered City's most realistic chance of progressing from the group behind Bayern Munich in a fevered atmosphere in Rome and even without their injured totem Aguero, Manuel Pellegrini's men produced a performance full of resolve.
    "Yes, I think so, I think today won the best team. I repeat, I think that Rome is a very good team and they play very, very well also but as I said to the players before the game, I think that against Roma in Manchester maybe was the worst game that we played the whole year," Pellegrini told reporters at a post-match news conference. "I mean in that case we drew 1-1. So, when we started the game here we had a lot of chances that if we continue playing the same way as we are doing in the last three weeks, the option to qualify was very important for us and fortunately we did it."
    His squad would not spend too long celebrating the victory, however, Pellegrini added.
    "We are just happy because we qualified for the next stage which was our target in this moment," Pellegrini added. "I think that from tomorrow morning we must forget about the Champions League because we have to play in February and we have now four games during December for the Premier League that for me is so important as Champions League. I think every competition, especially the Premier League; I think that in England maybe the Premier League is more important than the Champions League.
    "That's why we must focus our minds now on trying to beat Leicester on Saturday and try to win the last four games of the first round in December because we are going to play four games in a couple of weeks."
    With various permutations at the start of the night leaving it possible for Roma, City or CSKA Moscow to join Bayern in the last 16, the game effectively became an Anglo-Italian shootout once news of Bayern's early lead over the Russians filtered through.
    The English champions had their moments in the first half, especially when James Milner twice forced sharp saves from Morgan De Sanctis.
    City keeper Joe Hart then stepped up with some crucial stops from the moment he spread himself to block Jose Holebas's fifth minute shot from point-blank range.
    As the hour mark approached, Roma seemed to be running out of ideas when the in-form Nasri celebrated his 50th appearance in the competition with a marvellous goal.
    Roma, by now needing to score twice, came closest when Hart made another crucial intervention to push Kostas Manolas's header on to the post and Martin Demichelis blocked a shot on the line before Zabaleta calmed City nerves.
    "Maturity and experience are two things we still need to learn, it's true, but when you hit the goalpost and the ball either goes in or it bounces out, it is also question of luck. I think we probably didn't take advantage of our strong moments. In the first 15 minutes, at the start of the game we played very strong and had the chance to score and go forward but we didn't do it and that is also a sign of a strong team, which is what they were tonight," Roma coach Rudi Garcia told reporters after the match.
    Roma had the minor consolation of qualifying for the Europa League, ahead of CSKA Moscow who lost 3-0 at Bayern in their final group match.
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