Angel di Maria has promised to make up for his spluttering start at
Manchester United by firing his side into the Champions League.
Louis van Gaal's team face Sunderland at Old Trafford on Saturday with
the race for a top four finish in the Premier League hotting up.
Fourth placed United are one point ahead of Southampton in fifth place
and hope to return to winning ways after seeing a seven-game unbeaten
run ended by a 2-1 loss at Swansea in their last outing.
Their bid to return to Europe's elite club competition after a one-year
absence would be significantly boosted if di Maria can finally hit peak
form.
The Argentina international has only offered occasional glimpses of his
vast talent since a British record £59.7 million move from Real Madrid
last year and he told MUTV: "I've had a couple of games where things
haven't gone as well as they could have.
"I think it's part of that settling-in process to the English game.
"I started off quite well but I think that then made expectations rise
and everyone thought I would just carry on in the same way.
"But football is like that, sometimes you have these ups and downs. It
took me a while to settle fully in each of the countries where I've
played before."
Scarred by mid-week Champions League disappointment, Manchester City
have a golden opportunity to enhance their title defence when they visit
Liverpool on Sunday.
City's hopes of reaching the Champions League quarterfinals for the
first time were dealt a sizeable blow on Tuesday when they fell to a 2-1
loss at home to Barcelona in the first leg of their last 16 tie.
The result seriously compromises their chances of going through and the
extent of Barcelona's first-half dominance will take some forgetting,
but Sunday's return to domestic duties promises much.
With leaders Chelsea not in action due to their participation in
Sunday's League Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur, a City win at
Anfield will lift the defending champions to within two points of the
summit.
City then face a kind run of fixtures, against Leicester City, Burnley,
West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace, at a time when Chelsea, held to
a 1-1 draw by Burnley last weekend, have begun to show frailties.
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