defence, but the Catalan has always said
February will be key
So, Manchester City will face Monaco in the Champions
League last-16. What does it mean? Who knows.
Champions League last 16 draw
These particular draws are always curious given how
much can change in the next two months or so. The
mood around a club can change completely.
Right now, that's exactly what City will be banking on.
Monaco are probably the most favourable opponents
City could have hoped to face but, if this tie were to be
played before the end of 2016 few would be overly
confident of progressing - especially given the French
side have scored a frankly staggering 53 league goals
already.
Given City's porous defence that stat alone will cause
alarm bells, but there is more than enough time to put
things right.
Pep Guardiola has always been cautious to put a
timeline on his time in charge but he has specifically
mentioned February as some sort of landmark on more
than one occasion since he took over this summer.
’The Champions League is fixed’
The Catalan rightly insists he needs time to get his
players doing what he wants and he has usually
mentioned February as an example of when we will start
to see the kind of football he is striving for.
He may, however, have privately revised that timeline
given City's recent struggles, and it is those results and
performances which make this Champions League draw
particularly interestingly timed.
The mostly shambolic performance at Leicester City at
the weekend has brought about unfavourable
comparisons between Guardiola's side and that which
so laboured in the final knockings of Manuel Pellegrini's
reign.
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