Man City & United eliminated from the Champions League at the first hurdle.

Manchester United and Manchester City will have to make do with the Europa League for their European adventures this season. Thursday nights beckon. Channel Five rejoice.

 The cold reality is that both teams got what they deserved after six group matches. United for their astonishingly casual approach, City for their naivety in failing to adapt their game in Europe.
Roberto Mancini's side would have been prepared to exit the competition on Wednesday night. Napoli's victory at Villarreal meant that City's impressive 2-0 win over Bayern Munich's second string – courtesy of goals from David Silva and Yaya Toure – was not enough. City finished third in Group A and have blown the chance to make their mark on Europe in their debut Champions League season.
“I think that usually with 10 points teams always go through, 99 per cent of the time,” reflected Mancini in the bowels of the Etihad Stadium. “But in this group, it was not enough. Napoli got one more point than us and deserved to go through.”

There is more than a hint of truth to Mancini's assertion that City would have navigated eir way through a tough group in different circumstances. But his side made key mistakes, especially in the two games against Napoli, a 1-1 draw at home and a 2-1 defeat in Italy.

Against Bayern, City showed why they have one of the most impressive squads on the continent with a performance of complete control over the German giants. The likes of Silva and Sergio Aguero, who have fired City to a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League, deserve to shine alongside the best in Europe.

But Sir Alex will know he made big mistakes himself. After all, he cited “complacency” and “casualness” in United's performances but he set the tone as manager by fielding lineups more suited to League Cup matches. Two weeks ago, after the home draw with Benfica, he walked out of his post-match press conference indignant at the mere suggestion that United were “struggling” in the Champions League. It came back to bite him at St Jakob Park on Wednesday night.

The over-confidence was reflected in the players' displays, and Basel and Benfica took advantage of the defensive confusion caused by the rotation policy to take points from Old Trafford. United conceded eight goals from their six matches, for which they have little excuse despite being hit by injuries to key players.

The Manchester rivals – the top two in the league – will be left to a cycle of Thursday night and Sunday afternoon football as they battle for the title. The sense of disappointment with their European campaigns will be difficult to shake off, whatever is achieved during the rest of the season.
While they will do their best to win the Europa League, Patrice Evra's comments that he is “embarrassed” to be relegated to Europe's second tier reflect the players' apathy towards the competition.
The title race will now become even more bitter and fiercely contested as the only marquee prize available for both clubs. At least one of the teams appears doomed to domestic and European failure this season – but which will it be?