Manchester City can do better at Champions League, we have the quality - Zabaleta

Pablo Zabaleta understands the importance of City performing better at Champions League and believes his side can do better since they have the quality. Zabaleta said:

"We (the players) know that the owners have been spending big in the last couple of years to make this a team of Champions League winners. And we also know that it is now our responsibility to play well and win big European games. This is our fourth year in the competition and it has been clear to see that a lot of time we have not even been close to our best. Every team that comes to th Etihad know they are playing against a great team and they always play at 100%.

 We have to do the same. We do enough in the Premier League and other domestic competitions, but in Champions League you are playing against the very best and you just cannot make any mistakes. Maybe sometimes there is a intensity and , if we do not play at our best, we just cannot expect to win games in the Champions League. Obviously it is a very tough group once again. We play against Bayern Munich, Roma and CSKA Moscow. But we are Manchester City, we are champions of the Premier league.

The defeat against Bayern and the draw against Roma has put us under a lot of pressure, but there are still 12 points to play for. We know we can do better because we have the quality. Sometimes, when we miss chances to score or we miss our passes, perhaps we think it's just not our day. What we have got to do in those moments is work even harder to improve our performances. We must work and work.

We always expect a big atmosphere from the fans and they have always been great to us. The atmosphere in the stadium is not the problem. It's the players who need to take responsibility for this. We know we are better than what we have shown. We have to play with much more intensity for our supporters, although I have to say that it has been a little bit tough for those of us who were at the World Cup and didn't take a long break or get a good pre-season.

Sometimes it takes time to get 100 per cent fit. That is not an excuse. It is an explanation for what has happened this season and we all know we have to work harder to improve. We talk about these thins as a squad. There is always a positive attitude from the players."