Manuel Pellegrini has blasted UEFA’s seeding system.
The Manchester City boss vented his fury after his side were drawn in the same group as Bayern Munich for the third time in four seasons.
City go to Munich on Wednesday with their manager fuming that Arsenal, who finished fourth in the Premier League and had to go through a qualifying round, were seeded higher than league champions City.
It’s an unsatisfactory situation that UEFA plan to rectify in future competitions, but for now the Chilean has no choice but to live with the possible consequences of what is by some distance the competition’s hardest group.
“The tournament is for the champions,” he says. “I think that the champions of England and the champions of Germany with both leagues being among the best leagues in Europe both deserve to be in Pot 1.
“I dont think its good that the teams who play qualification matches because they finished fourth in their domestic leagues are in Pot 1. That’s where the strongest teams should be.
“In our group we have three domestic champions the English champions, the German champions and the Russian champions. We also have Roma who are a very strong team and who finished as runner-up in the Italian league.
“Maybe in the future there will be a system in which teams go into pots according to their position in their leagues and the points won in Europe.
“I think we need to find a modification whereby all teams who play qualification go into Pot 4.”
Not only do City meet Bayern again, the Group E ties against CSKA Moscow are a repeat of last season too.
“I do not think it is good to repeat the group almost exactly as the year before,” he says.
“But I dont think that playing a team two or three times makes it easier, because all football matches are different.
“Look at the tie against Bayern Munich last season. We lost at home 3-1 with Bayern playing very well, and then we went to Germany to play them and we won 3-2.
“We met within a month, and there were differences between both matches. So in that respect it doesnt really help. It will be very difficult to qualify from this group.
“We will approach this match as we always do, trying to impose our footballing qualities to overcome Bayern.
“It starts, for me, with the personality of the team and them being able to impose their football against any opponent and on any pitch.
“It’s important to progress in the Champions League, but we mustn’t forget the domestic league.
“We wont focus all we have on the Champions League and just see what happens in the Premier League.
“If we can fight for the Premier League title, and get further in the Champions League, then that would be progress.
“But if we have to leave behind the Premier League to win the Champions League, then for me personally that is no progress.”
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