- Europa League
Defiant Mancini asks: 'Why should I be fired?'
Roberto Mancini's troubled reign as Manchester City manager took another bad turn on Thursday as they lost 3-1 to Lech Poznan, but the Italian responded by asking: "Why should I worry about being fired?"
Emmanuel Adebayor appeared to have rescued City from defeat when he equalised five minutes into the second half of the Europa League encounter. However, Mancini's much-changed line-up conceded twice more to slump to an embarrassing loss.
Mancini has had to deal with endless amounts of speculation regarding the harmony of his squad over the past few days following City's defeat at Wolves. However, he is adamant that nobody can criticise the club while they remain on course for the main objective: Champions League football.
"The tabloids rage against us because City are headed by an Italian. I'm sorry to say, but the English are nationalists in football," Mancini was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
"City are fourth in the standings, and were in second place. The club have asked me to qualify for next season's Champions League and we are going well for that.
"Why should I worry about being fired? This does not exist. The team are against me? Lies, all rubbish. There were hard discussions with some players, but the team follows me and the results are arriving."
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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Abu Dhabi Grand Prix December 11-13
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Premier League 2020/21
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 38 | 27 | 5 | 6 | +51 | 86 |
| 2 | Man United | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | +29 | 74 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 38 | 20 | 9 | 9 | +26 | 69 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | +22 | 67 |
| 5 | Leicester | 38 | 20 | 6 | 12 | +18 | 66 |
| 6 | West Ham | 38 | 19 | 8 | 11 | +15 | 65 |
| 7 | Tottenham | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | +23 | 62 |
| 8 | Arsenal | 38 | 18 | 7 | 13 | +16 | 61 |
| 9 | Leeds | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | +8 | 59 |
| 10 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | -1 | 59 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 38 | 16 | 7 | 15 | +9 | 55 |
| 12 | Newcastle | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | -16 | 45 |
| 13 | Wolves | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | -16 | 45 |
| 14 | Crystal Pal | 38 | 12 | 8 | 18 | -25 | 44 |
| 15 | Southampton | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | -21 | 43 |
| 16 | Brighton | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | -6 | 41 |
| 17 | Burnley | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | -22 | 39 |
| 18 | Fulham | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | -26 | 28 |
| 19 | West Brom | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | -41 | 26 |
| 20 | Sheff United | 38 | 7 | 2 | 29 | -43 | 23 |
