Wednesday 17 September 2014 19:07, UK
Big-money signing Eliaquim Mangala is embracing the challenge posed by fierce competition for places at Manchester City.
A man acquired for £32million over the summer from Porto has had to be patient in his pursuit of regular first-team recognition at the Etihad Stadium.
Coach Manuel Pellegrini has so far resisted the urge to break up the successful centre-half pairing of Vincent Kompany and Martin Demichelis which helped City to Premier League glory in 2013/14.
Mangala is aware of the need to bide his time, with any team harbouring ambitions of pushing for major honours on multiple fronts requiring considerable strength in depth.
The Champions League is not like the league where it’s very open, it’s all on small details and sometimes it’s experience that can make the difference.
He said ahead of a UEFA Champions League opener away at Bayern Munich on Wednesday: “Competition is good for me and good for the team.
“The more competition you have, the more competitive the team will be and the more you improve.
“I am not scared of competition.
“It is the competition for places which will make me progress – so they will have to continue to play well and I will have to work harder.
“When I get my chance it will be up to me to show what I can do and I know there will be no room for mistakes.”
Mangala will be hoping to figure at some stage at the Allianz Arena in midweek, and he says it will be the ‘small details’ which determine whether City are a success or failure in Europe this season.
He added: “I think we have a quality squad but we must not forget the Champions League is all about small details.
“The most important thing is getting through the group stage and finishing top is always beneficial.
“But we know we have to be really focused because sometimes two or three chances or set-pieces can decide a game.
“The Champions League is not like the league where it’s very open, it’s all on small details and sometimes it’s experience that can make the difference.
“We all know this competition is important for us and we want to do better than last year.
“We’ve not won it before so it’s one of our big targets for the season.”
Watch Bayern Munich v Manchester City live on Sky Sports 5 from 6pm on Wednesday.
