Maybe it is important that I first tell you that I am a Manchester United fan. Like most fans of United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea, I was very excited about the prospect of seeing my club in action in Europe's biggest competition.
Unfortunately I was greeted by a lacklustre performance which was only really ignited by one moment of magic from Ryan Giggs. Despite this, there was one thing that eased my pain: rivals Man City had also suffered an unexpected poor start to their UCL campaign.
But surely these are two top English sides who are currently at the top of their game, and are in fact currently battling it out for top spot in the EPL. Surely they should be beating most European opposition which is sent their way.
I think before we continue, we should agree on a couple of things. It would be fair to say that Benfica, who came second in the Portuguese Primeira Liga last term, are a better side than Bolton, a team who finished 14th in the EPL last season. Agreed?
And last season's Serie A third-placers Napoli are a somewhat better team than last year's relegation candidates Wigan. Agreed? Agreed.
Well this raises a serious question: why are English teams more motivated when playing against lower opposition in the Premier League than they are against some of Europe's finest in the group stage of the Champions League?
United and City have had similar matches leading up to their opening UCL fixture: impressive wins over big rivals (Arsenal and City respectively) and then big wins over lower opponents (Bolton and Wigan). Both sides had put in impressive performances over these games but this form was not carried over into the Champions League openers.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been known to play weakened sides in the Champions League group stage in order to rest players for the Premier League.
However, should it not be the other way around? Shouldn't players be rested against teams like Bolton so that they are fresh to play against a team like Benfica?
It could also be argued that players like Ashley Young do not need to be rested, and he really could have been a difference maker in Lisbon.
Carrick, Fletcher and Park simply did not feed Rooney up front. Rooney has recently enjoyed support from the likes of Young, Anderson and Cleverley, who have been spearheading this idea of United being a youthful team. To be honest, the older players of the team did not stake a claim that they deserve to be played ahead of the youngsters.
Lindegaard was perhaps the only backup player who came in and put in a solid performance, although David De Gea would have been very much in his comfort zone in the Champions League as he is used to a slower paced game.
So why did City only pull a draw? The answer lies in the space between egotism and over-confidence.
Unlike United, City played a full strength team that was expected to easily beat Napoli, whose defence was not expected to withstand the likes of Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko.
So following a 5-1 win over Tottenham and a 3-0 win over Wigan, both City fans and players were expecting a similar style of victory against Napoli, and could you blame them? With a strike partnership that had amassed 8 goals in the previous two games?
Unfortunately, many overlooked the fact that this was their first ever game in the Champions League, and teams like Wigan are not in the UCL (although some would question the talents of Otelul Galati, but that's a different story altogether).
The point is, if City players can motivate themselves to take apart a team like Tottenham, then they should be able to put in a similar performance against a team like Napoli.
So why do they need to take the group stage seriously? If there is one thing which will always rest bitter in the minds of United fans, it is their Champions League campaign of 2005-06, where United scored a meagre three goals in the group stage.
The performance they put in did not even merit dropping into the Europa League (or UEFA Cup as it was then known). I'm sure that neither Alex Ferguson or the United fans would like to afford that embarrassment again.
City on the other hand have a very difficult group, where really any two of four could end up going through to the round of sixteen, and their maiden UCL campaign could be over before it has really begun.
They will need to put in much better performances in the remaining games, especially when it comes to facing group favourites Bayern Munich. Mancini definitely has some egos to tame and needs his players to be putting in 110 percent regardless of who the opponent is.
Otherwise they will be also-rans of the group stage.
Justin Falk Robbie Eal Joe Callahan Bryan Allen Mark Cullen Baltimore Orioles
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