Joe Cole, Owen Hargreaves discuss Manchester City woes in Champions League – ‘They’ve made mistakes’
Updated 27/01/2025 at 21:05 GMT
TNT Sports pundits Joe Cole and Owen Hargreaves discuss the reasons for Manchester City's troubles in the UEFA Champions League. The former Chelsea star believes that Pep Guardiola's side are now paying for their business in the transfer window, while Hargreaves says that the squad is lacking in confidence this season. The Premier League champions face a battle to reach the knockout stages.
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TNT Sports expert Joe Cole has claimed Manchester City are now paying for the "massive mistakes" made in previous transfer windows, as they bid to qualify for the UEFA Champions League knockouts.
A resurgent 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Saturday saw City edge into the top four places on goal difference, having slipped as low as seventh earlier in the day.
City, who have won four Premier League titles in succession and six of the last seven, have endured a relatively dismal domestic and European campaign.
Pep Guardiola’s men are 12 points adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, while they are 25th in the Champions League standings, two points off a play-off spot with one game remaining.
They take on Club Brugge on Wednesday, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, needing a win and results elsewhere to go in their favour to qualify for the next stage of the competition.
While City will hope the January signings of Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov can help turn their fortunes around this season, ex-Chelsea and England star Cole argued that City's woes could partly be credited to the sales of Cole Palmer, Liam Delap and Julian Alvarez.
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"I think City are going through a very difficult spell," Cole told TNT Sports. "I think they’ve made mistakes - selling Cole Palmer, letting Delap leave the club, and Julian Alvarez leaving.
"I think those are three massive mistakes Manchester City have made, and now they have to spend money to rectify them.
"But I do think Pep will be galvanised by this, and it will excite him trying to find a solution. They concede too many counter-attacks. The pressing isn’t as aggressive as it has been.
"But I think Pep is the best manager we’ve seen so he’ll be excited about finding a solution."
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Cole also paid tribute to Kyle Walker upon the 34-year-old completing a move to AC Milan on loan this month.
"First of all, he’s been an unbelievable footballer for Manchester City," said Cole. "He did everything he needed to do there.
"It was one of those situations [both parties] were mutually happy about. It looks like he wanted a new challenge.
"But I think it’s a massive loss. He’ll be very difficult to replace. But he’s 34 years of age now and Manchester City will need to find someone who can replace him."
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'The team is lacking in confidence'
Last week, City squandered a two-goal lead against Paris Saint-Germain to lose 4-2 at the Parc des Princes.
The loss saw them go to 25th in the standings, two points adrift of 24th-placed Stuttgart heading into their "last chance" fixture against Club Brugge.
Former City midfielder Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports: "Obviously they’re in a tough spot, but they’ve got a home game against Brugge - I think they’re going to win that.
"The performance in Paris was a surprise having been 2-0 up, but I think with the experience of Pep and all these players - Ederson, [Kevin] De Bruyne - they’ll find a way to get the job done at home. I think they’re going to make it."
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On City’s poor form this term, Hargreaves added: "Their problems are more defensive. At the top of the pitch they still score a lot of goals, but I think defensively there are issues.
"They haven’t played the same back four and I think Rodri going out has had huge issues on the whole team, but I think they need to get people back fit and healthy defensively.
"They’ve signed a couple of young centre-backs but if anything it’s the full-back positions where they need a bit of help too. The team is lacking in confidence, that’s for sure. But by getting players back fit and healthy, they can find a way to finish the season strong.
"You can see for sure that confidence has taken a big hit and even for a team as great as Man City they’re going to have to find a way to bounce back and finish the season strong."
How to watch Matchday 8 in the UEFA Champions League
All 18 matches will be available to watch live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on Wednesday, January 29.
TNT Sports will bring you extensive coverage from all the important matches and you can see all the goals as they fly in, with all 18 matches played concurrently on a bumper night of fixtures.
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The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
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