Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini believes his club didn’t deserve to lose against Lech Poznan in the Europa League.

The Premier League boys lost 3-1 in Poland leaving them shy of qualifying from Group A after suffering three straight losses.

City striker Emmanuel Adebayor equalized the scored in the second half of play, but goals from Manuel Arboleda and Mateusz Mozden landed Poznan the “W.”

Despite being beaten by two goals, Mancini has stated that he was ‘unlucky’ not to come away with some sort of a result.

“I’m disappointed because we don’t deserve to lose this game,” Mancini said following the match.

“At the moment everything is against us, we are very unlucky. We played a good game and we had a lot of chances to win but we must continue to work.

“We lost the last three games but that is football, sometimes you play well, you deserve to score but you don’t.”

Manchester City have now suffered losses to Arsenal, Wolves, and Poznan.  Word on the street is that there are some lockerroom issues that just may be the cause of frustrating play on the pitch.

City will face West Brom in Premier League action this Sunday as they look to break their slump.

Shaun Wright-Phillips, Wayne Bridge, and Joleon Lescott were all recalled for the match due to lack of play against the lesser Polish squad.

“I’m disappointed to lose the game but I’m happy because they played a good game. It is important that we keep going,” Mancini added.

“Tonight we were missing 10 players that were at home. We have 20 good players but sometimes you can lose a game you do not deserve to lose.”

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It now looks as though Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini may have to utilize team captain Carlos Tevez against Lech Poznan in Europa League play.

Due to Jo’s lack of fitness, Roque Santa Cruz being unavailable, and Mario Balotelli missing action as well, Mancini may be out of other options.

Hope of Jo playing is still lingering and a fitness test is still set to be performed.

Despite Emmanuel Adebayor’s poor level of play against Blackpool, Mancini says that he is still content with his hit-man.

“We must see if Jo will be available, but most of the others are okay,” Mancini told the club’s official website.

“Only Mario and (Aleksandar) Kolarov are out, but probably are fine for the next game. Kolo is not available either for Poznan.

“I will only decide on whether I rest Carlos after training (on Thursday).

“We will probably make changes because after the Europa League game we only have just over two days to recover for Arsenal, so we will make changes because of that. But we want to win on Thursday, it’s an important game for us.”

He continued. “I am happy with Manu.

“At the moment we only have Manu, Carlos and Jo to choose from because Roque is not on the list for European games.

“We will have to wait to see if Jo recovers, but I was happy with the way Manu played at Blackpool.”

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Napoli team captain Paolo Cannavaro is ready for the Europa League showdown with Liverpool on Thursday night.

The Reds, who are sitting on top of Group K, will make their way to Italy with a win and a draw in their pocket.  Napoli, on the other hand, are currently in second with two draws.

As of late, the Reds have made newspaper headlines globally, but for all the wrong reasons.  Liverpool has struggled to say the least and are staring relegation in the face.

Cannavaro, however, has encouraged his squad not to feed too much into the media, because he is well aware of what Liverpool are capable of doing.

“It will be a historic match for Napoli. For years, San Paolo hasn’t seen major events in Europe and on Thursday we all know how important it will be to be in top physical and mental condition,” he told the club’s official website.

“We must not be fooled by the ranking of Liverpool in the Premier League. In the international arena they have enormous experience. They are one of the most successful clubs in the world and are accustomed to challenges at the highest level.

“We need to play a perfect game. Liverpool know how to handle certain games and are used to the big stage. On the other hand we have a great opportunity and we will not give up to the end.

“It will be a night of celebration but the euphoria shouldn’t distract us – the noise of 60,000 people in San Paolo will support us and give us even more energy.

“Going through in the Europa League would be a truly historic achievement for this club. Our fans know it and will push us with their immense passion.”

Currently, Napoli are sitting in fourth place in Serie A play, and will next face AC Milan in league play.

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Juventus hit-man Alessandro Del Piero is well aware of the test that lies ahead of them… Manchester City.

The two clubs are set to meet in their Europa League group match at Eastlands on Thursday.

Del Piero is an experienced veteran and a vital player for Serie A’s Juventus.

A number of battles between City’s local rivals Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool have come Del Piero’s way during his time with Juve.  Now, the 35 year-old attacker is wary of his club’s next game against man City.

“Manchester City are in excellent shape and it will be very hard for us. It always is when you are in England,” said Del Piero.

“They have invested heavily and one of the reasons they can be successful is that they have a great squad of players.”

“We have a good base to build on and are at the beginning of a journey. Hopefully our results will improve as time goes on.”

This Sunday, Juventus will face Inter Milan, however, Del Neri has stated that he was solely zoned in on the City showdown.

He said, “I am only interested in tomorrow not the following match. We will see then if we have improved.

“A new team always make mistakes. You not only need to fix the problems but

also to focus on what you do well.”

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So after a World Cup of buzzing in our ears, Uefa has decided to ban the vuvuzela from all their games in the Champions League and Europa League.
The move was made after a mixed reception from fans and players. A statement from Uefa said, “The World Cup was characterised by the vuvuzela’s widespread and permanent use in the stands.
“In the specific context of South Africa, the vuvuzela adds a touch of local flavour and folklore, but Uefa feels that the instrument’s widespread use would not be appropriate in Europe, where a continuous loud background noise would be emphasised.
“Uefa is of the view that the vuvuzelas would completely change the atmosphere, drowning supporter emotions and detracting from the experience of the game.
“To avoid the risk of these negative effects in the stadiums where Uefa competitions are played and to protect the culture and tradition of football in Europe . . . Uefa has decided with immediate effect that vuvuzelas will not be allowed in the stadiums where Uefa competitions matches are played.”
While we appreciate a nations right to add flair and tradition to a tournament held in their country, we feel that the vuvuzela are particular to South Africa. And I for one can be happy that they will stay there!

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So the little brother of the Champions League announced its draw today. While you can see the quality throughout the group drop off a little, there are still some fantastic teams. The group of death is definitely Group J, we expect the latter rounds to be really competitive.

Group A – Juventus, Manchester City, Red Bull Salzburg and Lech Posnan.

Group B – Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Rosenborg and Aris Thessaloniki.

Group C – Sporting Lisbon, Lille, Levski Sofia and Gent.

Group D – Villarreal, Club Brugge, Dinamo Zagreb and PAOK FC.

Group E – AZ Alkmaar, Dynamo Kiev, BATE Borisov and FC Sheriff.

Group F – CSKA Moscow, Palermo, Sparta Prague and Lausanne.

Group G – Zenit St Petersburg, Anderlecht, AEK Athens and Hajduk Split.

Group H – Stuttgart, Getafe, Odense and Young Boys.

Group I – PSV Eindhoven, Sampdoria, FC Metalist Kharkiv and Debreceni.

Group J – Sevilla, PSG, Borussia Dortmund and Karpaty Lviv.

Group K – Liverpool, Steaua Bucharest, Napoli and Utrecht.

Group L- Porto, Besiktas, CSKA Sofia and Rapid Vienna.

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Ties will be played on August 19th with the return leg set for August 26th.

Paris St Germain (France) v Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) v Tavria Simferopol (Ukraine)

CSKA Moscow (Russia) v Anorthosis Famagusta (Cyprus)

Hajduk Split (Croatia) v Unirea Urziceni (Romania)

Feyenoord (Netherlands) v Ghent (Belgium)

Racing Genk (Belgium) v Porto (Portugal)

Debrecen (Hungary) v Litex Lovech (Bulgaria)

Aris Saloniki (Greece) v Austria Vienna (Austria)

Galatasaray (Turkey) v Karpaty Lviv (Ukraine)

Palermo (Italy) v Maribor (Slovenia)

Club Bruges (Belgium) v Dinamo Minsk (Belarus)

Omonia (Cyprus) v Metalist Kharkiv (Ukraine)

Vaslui (Romania) v Lille (France)

Napoli (Italy) v Elfsborg Boras (Sweden)

Sporting (Portugal) v Brondby (Denmark)

Grasshoppers (Switzerland) v Steaua Bucharest (Romania)

Liverpool (England) v Trabzonspor (Turkey)

Celtic (Scotland) v Utrecht (Netherlands)

Borussia Dortmund (Germany) v Garabagh Agdam (Azerbaijan)

AIK Stockholm (Sweden) v Levski Sofia (Bulgaria)

Sturm Graz (Austria) v Juventus (Italy)

Getafe (Spain) v APOEL Nicosia (Cyprus)

Dundee United (Scotland) v AEK Athens (Greece)

AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) v FK Atyrau (Kazakhstan)

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) v Lech Poznan (Poland)

Rapid Vienna (Austria) v Aston Villa (England)

CSKA Sofia (Bulgaria) v The New Saints (Wales)

Besiktas (Turkey) v HJK Helsinki (Finland)

Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) v VfB Stuttgart (Germany)

Sibir Novosibirsk (Russia) v PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

BATE Borisov (Belarus) v Maritimo (Portugal)

Luzern (Switzerland) v Lokomotiv Moscow (Russia)

Gyor ETO (Hungary) v Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)

OB Odense (Denmark) v Motherwell (Scotland)

PAOK Salonika (Greece) v Fenerbahce (Turkey)

Villarreal (Spain) v Dnepr Mogilev (Belarus)

FC Timisoara (Romania) v Manchester City (England)

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Uefa are awaiting the referee’s report after FK Rabotnicki fans were heard racially abusing Liverpool youngsters David Ngog and David Amoo.
Monkey chants were heard when the players touched the ball, although when quizzed, Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson said he didn’t hear anything.
It’s not the first time that Macedonian football has been in hot water. Back in 2003, England players Emile Heskey, Ashley Cole, and Sol Campbell were also racially abused.
A Uefa spokesperson said “We are aware of the matter, but we are waiting for the reports from the delegate and the referee.”
However, we here at Soccer Jones feel, that small fines that are handed for such offences are a little outdated. It’s time for firmer action to be taken. If you hurt teams in the pocket, not just a fine, but a loss of TV revenue and having to play games behind closed doors, you will certainly see teams and stadium staff act a lot quicker over such matters.
David Ngog did his part to shut up the fans, scoring a brace as Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners.

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A 9th minute goal by Diego Forlan was all Atletico Madrid needed for the “W” today.  Rafael Benitez’s boys will return to Anfield next week optimistic.

It was apparent that Liverpool was missing their scoring Spaniard Fernando Torres up top.

In times past, Forlan had struggled finding the back of net.  However, it was he who poked one past goalkeeper Jose Reina.  Just moments later Yossi Benayoun sent home Dirk Kuyt’s cross but sailed just wide of the net.

Eight minutes later, Banayoun beat Atletico’s David de Dea but was called offside by the linesman who made a bad call that would cost the Reds a goal.

With a fourth place finish in the EPL, anything other than a win in the week to come will likely bring their season to a screeching hault.

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