Source: Man_City
Hero Tevez returns to boost Euro flop City
| Submit Comments| Comments (30)| Printable Version1/1Play SlideshowClose MapEmmanuel Adebayor after full timeCarlos Tevez is back to boost shell-shocked Manchester City following their third demoralising defeat on the bounce. Having lost to Arsenal and Wolves in the Premier League, City slumped to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lech Poznan in Poland on Thursday night leaving the Europa League favourites second in their group and still needing four points from their final two games to be sure of qualification to the knock-out stage. Emmanuel Adebayor was one of the few in Roberto Mancini?s much-changed line-up who arrived back in Manchester with any pride in their performance having made it five goals in four games ? and he?ll be looking to partner Tevez in Wednesday?s Eastlands derby against United and in Sunday?s Premier League clash at West Brom. Acting skipper Pablo Zabaleta ? a big pal of Tevez who has returned to training at Carrington after treatment to his dead leg in his native Argentina ? told M.E.N. Sport: ?It?s nice to hear the news that Carlos is back. ?He is one of our best players at the moment, and when he plays you have a lot of possibilities to win. ?Everyone is important for the team, but we know Carlos is a great player. When he is out of the team, it is not the same. ?He is our captain and a great player. ?The fact he is back is very positive, and we all hope we see him run out on Sunday. ?The Manchester derby is coming up but right now the most important match is West Brom, and we must keep our focus on that, because we really need to win it.? Poznan scored two late goals to seal the points and City may need to beat Juventus, who drew 0-0 with bottom club Salzburg, in Turin to progress in the competition. ?We are disappointed with the result,? said Zabaleta. ?It?s a bad result, and we had a great chance to win the game. ?We were unlucky to concede a second goal in the last five minutes. But that is football ? you never know what will happen until the last minute. ?We had chances to score, but we must score them and close the game. We still have seven points, and the draw between Juventus and Salzburg is a good result for us. ?It?s really bad when you have to say that, because you have to try to win every game, and if we want to be a great team, we have to win these games.? Zabaleta admits confidence is low after three straight defeats, but says the blues now can?t afford to dwell on past results. ?It?s not good because you lose confidence, but now we have to be positive,? he said. ?We have to be ready for West Brom and for the derby next week. But sometimes you lose games. ?Now it?s about focussing and believing in ourselves because if you see the squad we have, it is full of fantastic players. ?Everyone here ? the players and the staff ? know that we have to try and change something, and try to win the next game. ?This game is over and our focus now has to be on West Brom. We need to keep our heads up and focus on that. ?After three losses a win is vital to get confidence back.? The defeat puts further pressure on manager Roberto Mancini after what has been a torrid week full of alleged bust-ups. But Zabaleta insists the players are together. ?Everyone has to be positive and try to start winning again. We are all on the same side and just need a win,? he said. How can City turn their form around? Have your say.
