Manchester City suffered a chastening night in Norway on Tuesday - but does it really matter?
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola during the loss to Bodo/Glimt
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola during the loss to Bodo/Glimt(Image: )
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When Pep Guardiola and Manchester City left the Arctic Circle on Tuesday night after defeat to Bodo/Glimt, it should have had seismic ramifications. European football should have been stopped in its tracks.
A squad with a market value of well in excess of £1bn, managed by the finest coach of his - or, arguably, any - generation, being humbled by a team with a market value of under £50m. Nevermind that it came just days after a derby defeat where they produced one of their worst performances in recent memory
City have won only two of seven games, with one of those coming against League One Exeter City. It is not stretching things to suggest they're currently a club in crisis, albeit, you may deem things to be a more a relative struggle, given they sit second in the Premier League table, are into the fourth round of the FA Cup and have one foot in the Carabao Cup final.
And, despite losing to Bodo/Glimt - and duly paying back fans who splashed out to head to Norway to watch their humiliation - they are very much in the Champions League. And isn't that in itself a big problem.
The lack of jeopardy in the first five months of Europe's premier club competition is mind-numbing, making the two January matches completely unnecessary additions to a packed football schedule. Where European football is confirmed, January should remain dry, just as it previously had always been.
Get the group stages finished in early November and have three months off before sudden death stages. Give the knockout stages the anticipation they deserve.
Because the competition as a whole is simply a sprawling mess.
These two post-Christmas rounds of fixtures have some edge for some teams, most notably the handful of sides below the 24th-place cut-line who might be able to squeeze into the play-off round after the final qualifying matches.
But rather than edge-of-the-seat stuff, it's fall-asleep-in-the-seat stuff.
Pep Guardiola reacts as he speaks to the media in a post match press conference after the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD7 match between FK Bodo/Glimt and Manchester City
Don't worry Pep, European glory can still be yours!(Image: )
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Yes there's some danger that big times, like City, don't hit the top eight and have to make do with a two-legged knockout playoff. But is that such a big deal? Four of last season’s quarter-finalists did not finish in the top eight of qualifying and, of course, Paris Saint Germain came through the knockout phase to win the trophy.
PSG finished with three defeats in their eight group games last term, losing three of their first five. They got through a playoff against fellow French side Brest and were rewarded with a last 16 tie against Liverpool, who had topped the 32-team group stage. They beat Brest 10-0 on aggregate.
Similarly, Aston Villa finished eighth in the qualification table and got Club Brugge in the round of 16... a harder tie than the eventual winners face.
So, while a win against Galatasaray next Wednesday might bring a welcome spot in the top eight, having to play a two-legged knockout tie in February would be no disaster for City.
Certainly, Tuesday night was shocking. But, thanks to the Champions League's major flaw, it is hardly the end of the world.