Joe Hart's Errors a Big Reason for Manchester City's Champions League Problems

At times during Manchester City's eventual 3-2 win over Bayern Munich on Tuesday, the German side looked like they were involved in some sort of handicap bet to really assert their superiority over Manuel Pellegrini's men.

Firstly, they ceded the lead, getting Mehdi Benatia sent off in the process. Then, having gone 2-1 up, in the second half they appeared intent on winning the game by simply keeping the ball, and without trying anything as obvious as attempting to score a goal.

And for a long time it looked like it was going to work, until Sergio Aguero popped up to prove his brilliance. Aguero was the only member of the City side that looked like he would challenge for a spot in even this depleted Bayern XI. One of the starkest differences between the German and English champions was in goal.

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Manuel Neuer was predictably imperious, claiming or punching crosses with authority, making flying saves and advancing off his line when required so quickly that it seems to save Bayern having an extra man in defence.

At the opposite end, Joe Hart provided more troubling evidence for why Pellegrini might have purchased Willy Caballero in the summer, either to keep pressure on the Englishman or perhaps even replace him at some point.

A confident goalkeeper spreads his mentality throughout his defence, allowing them to perform their own jobs with more authority, but at the moment Hart is so skittish that it's hardly a surprise that the likes of Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala are currently playing below their abilities or reputations. This is not to say that Hart is entirely responsible for his defence's form, but he is undoubtedly a factor.

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The low point of Hart's evening was Bayern's first goal, a free-kick from Xabi Alonso. The former Real Madrid man simply rolled the ball along the ground, at no great pace, past the ill-judged City wall and only a couple of yards to Hart's left.

The keeper flung his arms in the air as if to place some blame on the blocking defenders but firstly it was his responsibility to position those defenders in the wall. Even ignoring that, the way he just watched the shot skip past him, without even registering a cursory dive, was dreadful.

Sure, he may have been wrong-footed and probably expected Alonso to clip the ball over the wall, rather than shoot along the floor around it, but that was hardly an excuse.

Even Bayern's second could be blamed on Hart. There was an element of luck to Robert Lewandowski's strike, the ball seeming to come off a combination of his forehead and shoulder, but Hart was in no-man's land, not far enough off his line to prevent the cross or header, but leaving enough room for the ball to loop over him.

Hart's poor performances are not the sole reason for City's struggles in the Champions League, but they are indicative of a wider issue, that across their team they are simply not good enough to compete with the very best.

If they are to make an impression in Europe, they must either find someone better in goal than Hart, or their inconsistent keeper must improve.