An opening group game defeat to Juventus has again put the Blues on the back foot in their quest to qualify and Mangala believes there can be no more mistakes if progression to the Round of 16 is to be achieved.
The French defender, who has missed the last two games with injury, said: “I am convinced that we have to do better with the players we have here, because we want to help the club develop.
“We have a well-defined project and we must do well - we have no other choice. In the last few years we’ve stuck at the same level, and at some point, if you want to develop, you need to take a step forward, and that needs to happen on the pitch.
“We still have games left to qualify, so we shouldn’t sound the alarm yet; we just have to show that this game against Juventus was an off day and keep on working on what we do well and get rid of what didn’t go too well.
We are still confident, and we will stay with the same dynamic we’ve had since the start of the season and we will even get stronger
...Mangala #20...
Mangala has been among the Blues’ walking wounded in recent weeks with Manuel Pellegrini set to reveal the latest team news at his Tuesday evening press conference.
Nicolas Otamendi’s arrival has proved the need for four quality centre-backs and Mangala believes his former Porto team-mate will become a vital player for the Blues in the coming months.
“Of course, Nicolas’ arrival makes the team stronger. And it means that every single player has to improve, because you know that if you take things a bit easier, then you will be replaced by someone else.
“I know Nico really well, because I played with him at Porto - I know his skills and his level. And you know that if you are not giving your best, he is there. It’s the same with every player.
We bought Kevin De Bruyne, we bought Raheem Sterling, so it’s the same for the forwards and they know that they can’t slow down and that they need to perform, because if things don’t go too well you will be replaced
...Mangala #20...
“You cannot say, with the team that we have, we will only focus on the league. No, with the squad that we have, we can do well in every competition, and that is really important. Sometimes you feel some fatigue and injuries will come - that happens during the season. But the fact of having players like Nico, Kevin or Raheem, it’s very important for us.
“We know we have the right squad to go a long way in this competition, but we realise that the competition is very difficult, it’s very different from the league.
“When you look at what happened at Tottenham, we are amongst the top teams but will still lost. Chelsea are having a difficult time in the league, and they were held at Newcastle.
“It’s a different competition, you need experience and you need to have gone quite a long way in the competition to gain that experience. In our game against Juventus, we had some chances to kill the game and score two or three goals, but in the end we lost 1-2.
“That’s when you realise that it is a different competition, and you need to be more efficient. We must learn from our defeats and react positively.”
Make sure you’re at our next home Premier League match against Newcastle on Sat 3rd Oct at 3pm. You can buy your tickets now to ensure your seat for another memorable game at the newly-expanded Etihad Stadium.
