Manchester City Make Qualification a Difficult Prospect After Mistakes vs. Roma

MANCHESTER, England — Etihad Stadium

Manchester City left themselves a mountain to climb in their quest to qualify for the Champions League last 16 for the second consecutive year when their 1-1 draw at home with Roma left them with just one point from two games in Group E.

It leaves Manuel Pellegrini with much to ponder after another European display against a side possessing technical quality saw City overrun in midfield for large periods. Pellegrini’s insistence on playing two in midfield shows no sign of abating, even when faced with teams with the capability to control the battle in the centre of the pitch.

Miralem Pjanic, the Bosnian midfielder who orchestrates proceedings for Roma, was given too much space to find passes and City struggled to get a foothold in the match for the first hour.

City got off to the perfect start when former full-back Maicon pulled Sergio Aguero back in the box. Referee Bjorn Kuipers awarded a penalty, and the Argentine stepped up and finished expertly, settling some of the nerves that often emanate from the stands at the Etihad on European nights.

However, it didn’t take long for Roma to get themselves back into things when 38-year-old Francesco Totti became the oldest player to score in a European match after chipping Joe Hart beautifully. Defensively, City will ask questions of themselves, with the shape of their back four all wrong as Totti was put through by Radja Nainggolan.

For much of the first half, Roma looked comfortable, their extra man in midfield meaning they could dictate play. Tactical fouling frustrated City—something Kuipers failed to get a grip on at any point—but Pellegrini’s side need to become better at dealing with European-style football if they want to achieve their ambitions in this competition.

Another penalty shot was turned down when Jesus Navas’ cross appeared to be handled by Kostas Manolas, and City went in at half-time with little to show for their efforts.

James Milner replaced Navas for the second half after the Spaniard had failed to get the better of Ashley Cole during the first 45 minutes, and he gave City some added impetus. However, it wasn’t until Pellegrini altered his formation that City really began to get a foothold in the match.

Frank Lampard, the hero of City’s recent matches, replaced Edin Dzeko, and alongside Yaya Toure and Fernandinho, formed a three-man midfield axis that allowed City to see more of the ball. It was too little too late, though, and City now head to Moscow to play CSKA on Matchday 3 in desperate need of three points to kick-start their campaign.

Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Their progression to the last-16 last season—the first time they had emerged from the group stage in three attempts—was seen by many as a real step forward, but this performance, coupled with the defeat to Bayern Munich on Matchday 1, have reopened some of the scars inflicted on them during Roberto Mancini's two Champions League campaigns in charge.

The Italian struggled in this competition, with City often appearing somewhat naive when faced with patient teams capable of playing incisive counter-attacking football. Pellegrini has made some progress, but it's clear there's still work to be done. Just one clean sheet in their last 16 Champions League encounters underlines some of their deficiencies.

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Pellegrini not trying to sugarcoat it in press conference: "It's never good just to draw and get only one point. We didn't play well."

— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) September 30, 2014 "

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Pellegrini asked about crowd: "If there is a great atmosphere it's always better for the team. But I don't think that was important."

— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) September 30, 2014"

But all is not lost. City may have just one point, but they remain just three points behind Roma and are capable of overhauling the Italians. It does seem, though, that the tough trip to Rome on Matchday 6 will be hugely significant in what is likely to be difficult task in front of a hostile crowd.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Asked afterward if his side were too open with a two-man midfield, Pellegrini said: "Every time you don’t reach the result you want, of course there is a lot of different things to do, but I think in the way we were playing, we were playing very well in our last game so it was not an easy decision to change from the beginning.

"We play a lot of games against strong teams in this way and we do it well. Maybe today we were not accurate in our passing and when we lost too many balls we did not have enough midfielders to recover. I think the most problem was we lost many easy passes."

He refused, though, to blame individuals for the goal City conceded, saying: "I think that when the other team scores a goal, it is not just a problem of one or two players. He had too much space in that play, but we can have the quality and the team playing at home to try to win.

"If you don’t concede a goal, you don’t concede a goal, but today we didn’t play in the way we normally play to score a goal. In the last 20 minutes, we play more like the team you usually see here. Today was not our day."

It's time for City to really assert themselves on the European stage and show the quality they display most weeks in the Premier League. They have a group of players more than capable of impacting the latter stages of the Champions League, but at the moment a lack of belief seems to be holding them back.

A win in Moscow is now a must.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard.