Premier League legend brands Man City 'amateur' and not respected by opponents ahead of Napoli clash
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Oliver Walton
Tue 16 September 2025 11:10, UK
Man City have been slammed by a Premier League icon who believes that Serie A champions Napoli should be able to get the better of them in the Champions League due to their shaky defence.
Man City battled back from two straight defeats to beat arch-rivals Man United 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday (14 September).
Pep Guardiola’s side have endured a mixed campaign up to now, with the after-effects of the Club World Cup still clearly on show in successive losses to Tottenham and Brighton prior to the international break.
They bounced back in style against the Red Devils though, and soon head into the start of their Champions League campaign as Napoli visit the Etihad Stadium on Thursday (18 September).
The Serie A champions will provide their toughest test of the season so far, having won each of their first three league games, and one former Premier League legend believes that they can beat the Citizens due to their lack of spine and instability at the back.
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City have kept clean sheets in the league this season against both Wolves and Man United, but they looked very susceptible against Spurs and Brighton as they each scored twice to come away with three points.
Gianluigi Donnarumma impressed on his debut against Man United last time out, but former Napoli man and Premier League star Paolo Di Canio does not think Guardiola’s side are as good as they used to be, and he urged the Serie A side to pounce on any potential mistakes at the back when they meet on Thursday in an interview with Italian outlet Il Mattino on Monday (15 September).
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He said: “This is a great opportunity and we need to take advantage of it right away.
From what we’ve seen in the first few games, they’re in disarray at the back.
Before, teams that played against City respected them, but now, even if City are 3-0 up, everyone knows they can come back.”
While Di Canio is unsure if City are the same team they used to be after capitulating on all fronts last season, they have a good recent record against sides from Italy and will look to emulate some of those past performances on Thursday night.
Guardiola’s side emerged victorious against Juventus in the Club World Cup as recently as June, with a 5-2 victory seeing Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden and Savinho all getting on the scoresheet after they had been beaten by the same side in the Champions League last December.
The biggest game for the club against an Italian side, and arguably the biggest in their history, came in June 2023 as they beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the Champions League final to win the trophy for the first time ever and complete a historic treble.
City drew 1-1 to and thrashed Atalanta 5-1 in two group games in the 2019-20 campaign, while both of their previous meetings against Napoli ended in 2-1 and 4-2 victories in 2017.
Their last loss to an Italian side before that came at the hands of Juventus in 2015, after a 1-0 group stage defeat at the Allianz Stadium, and so City will feel confident of their chances of a result against Napoli as they head into this tie on Thursday.