London: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has blamed "nerves" as his team drew 1-1 with Napoli in their Champions League debut on Wednesday night.
In an entertaining affair, Edinson Cavani opened the scoring in the second-half after being fed through on goal and slotted his effort underneath Joe Hart’s legs whilst holding off the City defence.
A stunning Aleksander Kolarov free-kick brought the teams level as the two sides fought out a draw that was a more than deserving result for either outfit, albeit with the hosts having more than their fair share of chances.
The Italian manager, who was watched by his father Aldo at the Etihad Stadium, hoped that his team can be better in the next match against Bayern Munich.
"We can do better in Munich. Bayern Munich are a fantastic team but we have a team that can win everywhere," Mancini was quoted as saying by The Daily Telegraph.
On the match against the Italian outfit, Mancini said: "We lost a stupid goal; a team like us cannot concede a goal like that. It was a first (game) for us and in the end I'm happy."
"Before the game we were so nervous. All the players wanted to win and, probably, all the players wanted to score. But it's important for us to play simple football," he added.
City are yet to face Villarreal and Bayern Munich in what has been called the 'group of death', but Mancini brushed off any worry that a point at home would see them struggle for the remainder of the stage.
The Italian quipped: "No, we’ll win in Munich next game."
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