Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini must beat Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League in order to save his job – that is the opinion of Liverpool hero Jamie Carragher.
Struggling in the league, questions have been asked about Pellegrini’s suitability to the role at Man City. Saturday’s defeat against Burnley was just the latest set-back in their season, and they now face a far sterner test among Europe’s elite.
Pellegrini’s previous history in the Champions League was thought to be the answer to the club’s European woes, but he looks set to crash out at the last-16 stage for a second successive season.
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“I think he’s got a big problem in terms of his job because you only have to look at the owners and how they dealt with (Roberto) Mancini – a man who won the league, I think he won the FA Cup. Pellegrini won a domestic cup and the league in his first season,” Carragher said on Sky Sports (via the Mirror).
“The exact same thing is happening. They’re just drifting in that second season. I think he’s going to need a result like Laurent Blanc got.
“I think Laurent Blanc saved his job at Paris Saint-Germain in that Chelsea game. I think he’s going to need something like that on Wednesday night in the Nou Camp to stay there at the club.”
The Chilean has previously stated that he doesn’t feel like a trophy-less campaign will cost him his job (via Daily Mail), but the lack of tangible progress in Europe is clearly a worry.
However, there doesn’t seem to be a huge number of managerial candidates available, and Man City are known to sound out potential successors before making any drastic decisions.