Pellegrini: City Played Badly

Manuel Pellegrini admitted Bayern Munich taught Manchester City a footballing lesson during their 3-1 win at the Etihad.

 European champions Bayern delivered a masterclass as they powered to a convincing victory in Champions League Group D. The formidable attacking trio of Franck Ribery, Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben all struck as City were completely outplayed on their home turf, although they also contributed to their own downfall.

Errors from goalkeeper Joe Hart and the defence proved costly but the hosts at least finished strongly as Alvaro Negredo replied and Bayern had former City defender Jerome Boateng sent off.

The result lifted Bayern clear at the top of the group and, even after just two games, probably left City in a battle for second place with their next opponents CSKA Moscow.

The overwhelming feeling was that a City side that thrashed Manchester United just 10 days previously were taught a footballing lesson. And Pellegrini admitted as much, telling Sky Sports: "We played very bad. Bayern Munich played a very good game as always. We learned an important lesson in their goals. "We didn't have enough time with the ball at our feet. "I think that we were playing in a different way. They had possession of the ball and I don't think we can make the change to fight that. "I always think a lot of things before and after the match. It was a possibility, but I thought this was the best way to play. "I will talk about that with the players in private. "All the games are very important. This was an important game to see what level we are playing at."

 Pellegrini added: "I will talk about the team, not individual players. "That was not the team we are seeing every Sunday here in the Premier League and that was the worst thing. "Bayern always had a lot of possession but that was not a good day for us. "The three goals - I think we can do better, not only the goalkeeper. "But you can concede goals to Bayern Munich because they are a strong team."

 Pellegrini also admitted concern over Hart's form but would not go into detail on the issue. He said: "Of course I am worried about the mistakes but I think that it was not an easy game, we played against a very strong team. "Our performance was not the way we have been playing. It is important to think about the future and what are  the solutions.

 "I think that the three substitutes, Negredo, Silva, (James) Milner, they played very well. "They changed the match in the last 20 minutes but the goal of Negredo was just a little thing at the end. "The difference between Bayern Munich and Manchester City was the difference you saw the whole game. "There are a lot of reasons why this happened so it is very important for me to have the solutions. I was surprised by the game we played." He concluded.

Jurgen Klopp: If this is my only final I’ll still die a happy man

JURGEN KLOPP hailed tonight’s all-German final between Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich at Wembley as the perfect match in the perfect setting.

Boss Klopp will guide his Borussia Babes to yet another milestone and this would be the fairytale ending for a club that eight years ago was on the brink of extinction.

When he arrived in 2008 they had finished 11th in the Bundesliga.

He led them to back-to-back championships in the last two years and now they are one match away from being crowned Kings of Europe.

The charismatic Dortmund chief knows this historic occasion could not have a more fitting setting than Wembley — the venue of legends.

Klopp, 45, said: “If this would be the only final in my life it’s the perfect place against the perfect opponent.

“If I die in 60 years and that’s the only final I go to, it’s not so bad.”

Bayern Munich, who left runners-up Borussia 25 points behind in the Bundesliga, are the favourites. But Borussia have won five and drawn two of the last eight competitive matches these two have played.

They drew twice in the Bundesliga this season and Bayern’s only win in the last three seasons came in a German Cup game earlier this year.

Klopp added: “It’s an absolutely special game. It’s not just the fourth Dortmund-Bayern game this season. At this moment it feels normal. But, tomorrow we will feel a big difference, I’m sure. It’s a one-off and nobody wants to lose."

“We will use our tactical potential to bring them down to our level. And then we can beat them.”

Dortmund will be without injured superstar Mario Gotze, who is set to join Bayern after they coughed up his £31.5million get-out clause without telling Borussia’s board last month.

Klopp insisted they have prepared for several weeks to play without Gotze. He said: “We did hope for quite some time that he could play.

“It would have been a surprise if it had worked out but, of course, for the last three or four weeks we expected he would not be playing.”

Klopp chose not to wind up his rivals, claiming underdogs Dortmund will be under as much pressure as Munich.

He added: “I can’t say what the players of Bayern Munich think or if they have a feeling they might suffer a third loss in four years.

“If the outsiders do not feel the same pressure as the favourites, how stupid would that be?."

“You need to focus on the task. People have climbed Mount Everest knowing that 10 metres from the top they might have to turn back — but they tried anyway.”

Klopp’s only concern ahead of the final? The London traffic. It took Dortmund 90 minutes to drive from their Watford base to Wembley for training last night.

Cool Klopp joked, “We’ll have breakfast, then we’ll have lunch and a bit of a siesta and then there’s a meeting and then we’ll see how long to get to the match.

“We had police with us today. Are they not allowed to use their lights and sirens in England?.It would be very useful tomorrow. We had three motorbikes ahead of us."

“If they want us to make the game on time they might have to turn on their blue lights.

“If somebody knows a policeman, ask him. Please.”