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It was a tough night for Manchester clubs in the European Champions League, with Manchester City going down to Bayern 2-0 and Manchester United lucky to grab a 3-3 draw with Basel, and a row with Carlos Tevez highlighting player discontent at City.
The loss to the German giants will lead to City manager Roberto Mancini to renew his calls for the club to sign more players, but ugly sideline scenes point at player management issues at the club burgeoning with precocious talent.
The European rookies were rocked by two goals from Bayern striker Mario Gomez in an eight-minute period. City had two decent penalty calms waved away by referee Viktor Kassai, both involving Bayern defender Jerome Boateng.
The former City player clipped David Silva closed to the goal line, then later knocked over Micah Richards but neither spot kick was given.
French forward Franck Ribery was the architect of Bayern’s victory, creating several chances and shots on goal.
City stepped up and got back into the match after Gomez’s brace, but could not find a way to breach the Bayern defence.
The discontent on the sidelines of the City bench opened up after Mancini brought on Nigel de Jong for Edin Dzeko in the second half, with Dzeko exchanging words with Mancini in a row that also involved disgruntled Argentine Carlos Tevez.
According to Mancini after the match, Tevez had refused to take the field for the club. Mancini has come out and said Tevez is “finished” with the club.
It is the latest saga involving Tevez at City, who has seeking a transfer away from the club since December.
“If one player earns a lot of money for Manchester City and refuses to go on, for me, he is finished,” Mancini told the media.
“If we want to improve, Carlos can’t play with us. He is finished.”
It wasn’t much better for the red half of Manchester, with United rescued from defeat by a last-minute goal from Ashley Young.
The English champions looked to be cruising after two first-half strikes by Danny Wellbeck. But United collapsed defensively as the Swiss minnows knocked in three quick goals.
It was just rewards for Basel, who were unlucky to score earlier but keep plugging away and had Alex Frei bag two goals and Fabian Frei one.
The Swiss club looked to have scored a famous victory at Old Trafford, but United pushed for the equaliser and Young popped up in the dying stages with a crucial header.
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