Manchester City midfielder James Milner has stated that his side can bounce back from their midweek defeat in Europe, and that Roberto Mancini’s squad are motivated to achieve success.
The Etihad Stadium outfit’s chances of progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League hang in the balance after an Edinson Cavani double ensured a 2-1 defeat to Napoli on Tuesday night.
Despite the current Premier League leaders facing elimination from Europe’s top club competition, Milner is full of confidence in his team.
“We’re a strong group of players, mentally as well. We still have confidence in ourselves. This is a massive disappointment but it’s all part of football,” he told Sky Sports.
“You have to deal with disappointments, move on from them and make sure you learn from your mistakes. That makes you a stronger and better team.
“It’s a learning curve for us. We have to make sure we bounce back from this but learn from it also.
“We’re disappointed but we will pick ourselves up and go again on Sunday at Anfield and make sure we bounce back with a good performance and get a win,” he stated.
With closest rivals Manchester United playing Newcastle on Saturday, the Citizens could see their lead at the top of the division temporarily cut to two points, but Milner is focussed on his own team’s fixture.
“We’re not really worried about what other teams are thinking. We’ve got some big games coming up and it’s going to be massive on Sunday.
“That’s the pleasing thing – and we’ve got games every few days.
“We don’t have an international break to think about the defeat, we’re straight back at it and hopefully we can bounce back with a victory,” he concluded.
By Gareth McKnight
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