Mancini shoulders blame for defeat

City is now on the verge of being eliminated from the group stages after slumping to a 3-1 defeat at the Amsterdam Arena - goals from Siem de Jong, Niklas Moisander and Christian Eriksen making Samir Nasri's opener obsolete.

Mancini told Sky Sports 2: "They played better than us, they played better football.

"It was probably my fault because I prepared badly for this game, I didn't prepare the players and I'm at fault for the defeat.

"When you prepare for a game sometimes it is a different to what you expect.

"We played a bad game. We had a few chances to score but the players didn't really play well."

The Citizens have only one point for their troubles and Mancini believes qualification will now be a bridge too far given the poor return on performances against Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

"It's very difficult. There's one team with seven points, one team with six and one with three," he added.

"It will be a miracle."