Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini is blaming a tough group draw for their Champions League failure this season.

City are playing in the Champions League for only the second time and, like last year, they have been handed a particularly difficult group, with Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid all domestic champions.

Mancini said: "In the Champions League there are Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Manchester United that have more experience than us.

"True or not? It is true. Perfect. We play Champions League for the second year, probably we need to work more for this.

"But sometimes you also need to be lucky when there is a draw, because if you take a softer group maybe you have more chance. In these six games you can get more experience for the February stage.

"This time we again took a difficult group and you need to work hard. When you are in a group with Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid and Ajax, you can go out. It is possible."