Manchester City must limit their mistakes against Club Brugge to progress in the Champions League

Manchester City face a must-win Champions League fixture tonight against Club Brugge. In truth, the situation Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves in is one entirely of their own making. Costly errors and mistakes have littered Pep Guardiola’s side’s Champions League league phase campaign. If they are to progress tonight they simply must cut that out of their game. If they don’t, they may find themselves in a tough match against an in-form Club Brugge side.

A look at Manchester City’s Champions League campaign to date shows that they sit in a hole that they have dug themselves. Yes their opponents such as PSG, Juventus, Sporting and PSG deserve credit for beating Pep Guardiola’s side. As do Feyenoord for fighting back from a 3-nil deficit at the Etihad. But each one of those defeats and City’s late collapse against Feyenoord have all been littered with mistakes from Manchester City players. To progress tonight the costly errors must simply be cut out of City’s game.

It has been a surprise to see Manchester City’s players make so many mistakes in one Champions League campaign. It isn’t a sight we have been used to seeing from Pep Guardiola’s side. But those errors have directly led to City being so precariously placed in the Champions League table. If they make them tonight it could be curtains for Manchester City. Club Brugge are a quality side and they are built to capitalise on any City mistakes. So if the world champions tighten that side of their game up they may be well placed to progress provided that they also play well at the Etihad tonight.

Of course Manchester City will have to play well to beat Club Brugge. That’s a given. But what they cannot do is shoot themselves in the foot once again. They’ve already dug themselves into a hole. Now they cannot afford to bury themselves in that hole through their own errors. Manchester City have the quality to beat Club Brugge tonight that isn’t in question. But they can’t afford to have to beat themselves as well as Club Brugge to book their place in the next stage of the Champions League.