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Sterling ‘not to blame’ for loss
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MANCHESTER City manager Manuel Pellegrini has refused to blame new recruit Raheem Sterling’s profligacy in front of goal for the English Premier League leader’s 1-2 home loss to Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Sterling, who joined City from Liverpool in the summer under controversial circumstances, has been in impressive form in the Premier League and helped his side win all five games.
But he was guilty of missing two good chances against Juventus and was eventually replaced in the 71st minute.
“I don’t think this result is just because of Raheem. We controlled the game and didn’t have many problems but football is like that,” Pellegrini was quoted by British media as saying. “I expect that when we have chances we must score. The differences are very slight, especially against a strong team like Juventus.
“We never want to lose here at home, we never want to lose important points, but we have 15 points more to play for,” the former Real Madrid boss added.
City will be hoping to get some points on board in its next Champions League Group D match on September 30 against Borussia Moenchengladbach, which lost 0-3 to Sevilla.
Meanwhile, VfL Wolfsburg’s winning Champions League return after a six-year absence proved that life on the biggest European stage is possible even after playmaker Kevin De Bruyne’s departure.
The Wolves beat visiting CSKA Moscow 1-0 in their Group B opener on Tuesday but the scoreline was not reflective of the hosts’ dominance, something many people had questioned before the game given De Bruyne’s absence.
The Belgium international, who had led them to a second-place finish and German Cup victory last season, joined City for a record 70-million euro (US$78.63 million) fee last month, dealing a major blow to his former team with the season already under way.
Wolfsburg, however, reacted quickly and made the cash from the 24-year-old’s transfer count, luring Germany international Julian Draxler away from Schalke 04 for 35 million euros.
The 21-year-old attacking midfielder started paying off the big investment in him on Tuesday, scoring the 40th-minute winner in his fine home debut where De Bruyne’s absence went unnoticed.
“Julian has huge potential. He was very present and had good ideas,” said Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking. “I am very satisfied with him.”
Elsewhere in Champions League action on Tuesday, it was: Paris Saint-Germain 2, Malmo 0 (in Group A); and Benfica 2, Astana 0 (in Group C).
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