Manchester City must be patient against Barcelona, says Graeme Souness
Tuesday 24 February 2015 19:36, UK
Graeme Souness believes Manchester City have a great chance of knocking Barcelona out of the Champions League if they are patient, and don't go gung-ho from the beginning.
Manchester City will be going into the game with their tails up after beating Newcastle 5-0 on Saturday, while Barcelona are heading to the Etihad off the back of a bad result against Malaga.
If you're Barcelona or Real Madrid in Spain, it doesn't matter how you lose, it's the losing that's important and you get abused for it.
Their team is filled with some superb players, and players of that quality hate the taste of losing and hate being criticised. They'll be an angry lot coming to Manchester and it could turn them into a dangerous animal.
Manchester City have a great chance of beating Barcelona but to do so they mustn't go gung-ho like they have done in the past.
In the last few seasons in Europe, their mistake has been trying to win the game in the first half of the first leg - and they've done that by going 4-4-2 and out on the attack against teams in the past.
You need to start the game solid, with one striker, pack the midfield and make sure you're not chasing from the very first minute.
It's important to get a feel for the game and see how it pans out. Then, if you feel like you're in charge, you make a positive change.
Also, if needs be, you can also make a negative change, but the key is to make sure you're not making these kinds of decisions under pressure - by going a goal or two behind. That's where City have failed in the past.
Yaya Toure is a massive loss for Manuel Pellegrini in the first leg. He's a big player for Manchester City and the big players are the ones who make the difference in these kinds of games.
The returning James Milner is not going to give you the magic and be the difference like Toure would, but he's a really solid player who will work his socks off for the cause. I was lucky enough to work with him when he was a youngster, and I think he's matured into a very good player at this level.
UEFA Champions League Highlights
I am also a huge fan of Wilfried Bony and believe he will be an outstanding success for City. He will be a nice option for Pellegrini to have from the bench for this one, as you can never have enough good players available to you in the big games.
If Manchester City can get through this tie, they will be one of the teams that others will desperately hope to avoid in the latter stages. If you can turn Barcelona over, then the players themselves will start believing they can win the Champions League.
They've spent the last few seasons being turfed out by teams that maybe they could have beaten. And it's not that the players aren't good enough to operate at this level, because they most certainly are, but I just think they've been a little bit naive.
The first thing you have to be in any game is hard to beat, and that's what Manchester City will need to be against Barcelona on Tuesday night.
