Richard Buxton: Pep and City hope to shake European jinx
The Citizens' Champions League romance resembles an abusive relationship
Water and oil have a greater cohesion than Manchester City and the Champions League.
In a classic case of an abusive relationship, the current English Premier League leaders become increasingly attracted to Europe's elite club competition with every instance of rejection they encounter.
Boos for the Champions League anthem will not subside inside the Etihad Stadium anytime soon, nor will the contempt in which its powers that be are justifiably held by City fans.
| HOFFENHEIM | MAN CITY |
But Uefa's flagship tournament remains the only obstacle between Pep Guardiola's side and true greatness ahead of their Group F encounter with Hoffenheim tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
City remain beset by etiquette issues when dining at European football's top table.
From seven prior seasons, they have endured three round-of-16 exits, one apiece in the quarter-finals and semi-finals as well successive group-stage humiliations in their opening two campaigns.
Guardiola, too, has struggled to shake the competition's stigma, winning less than half of his 24 knockout ties since leaving Barcelona in 2012.
Perhaps it is why he has continually sought to downplay both its importance and the English champions' standing on the biggest stage.
Last season he chose to prioritise winning the EPL title over lifting his third Champions League when a prospective Treble had very much remained in the offing.
Conquering Europe one title at a time, it seems, remains Guardiola's modus operandi.
Respect, the Catalan believes, has to be won, and City are still some way from establishing themselves as European royalty, alongside the likes of Manchester United and Liverpool.
NO FAST TRACK TO SUCCESS
No amount of financial doping can fast track the process, although their Abu Dhabi owners have made greater strides than their Gulf counterpart's vanity project at Paris Saint-Germain.
Consistency allowed City to set the standard on home soil, with the biggest points tally and winning margin in EPL history, but knockout ties do not always favour the status quo.
It is why Juergen Klopp's side rode into last season's Champions League final on the crest of a wave.
Guardiola's side is both balanced and laden with enough quality to challenge for the ultimate honour, but it will encounter previously uncharted challenges in his former Bundesliga parish.
Unwanted history weighs on City at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena; defeat by Lyon a fortnight ago saw them become the first English club to suffer four successive losses in the competition.
Leroy Sane will also face scrutiny in his homeland, having bounced back from a frosty return to the Germany set-up since being dropped from their World Cup squad during the summer.
His omission from City's four opening games was met with the winger replicating the form which earned him the Young Player of the Year accolade last season as he recorded a goal and three assists in his ensuing appearances for Guardiola's side in all competitions .
Flourishing away from the hostile environment that currently surrounds Die Mannschaft, where every flaw is publicly seized upon in the wake of a dismal and short-lived defence as world champions, may finally show Joachim Loew the error of his ways on Sane.
Disproving the doubters is a recurring theme in City's Champions League quest.
Only ending an eight-year itch shared by their manager will see them finally considered one of the greats, not just in England.
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