City on a learning curve but don't read too much into Napoli draw

Aleksandar Kolarov celebrates his equaliser with Sergio Aguero

Manchester City 1-1 Napoli

Perhaps Manchester City's blistering early form in the Premier League lulled us into thinking they would take the Champions League by storm this season, but Napoli provided a harsh example of how difficult life will be for City in their first campaign in the competition.

They couldn't have started their league campaign any better, hitting Swansea for four, Bolton for three, Tottenham for five and Wigan for three, but facing Italian opposition was always going to be a different prospect and a challenge that takes some getting used to.

Napoli were solid at the back and almost impossible to break down at times, while the quality of their counter-attacking play always threatened to cause City problems.

Yet Roberto Mancini's side arguably deserved to win the game.

They weren't as potent as they have been in the league so far this season, but they still managed to carve out 24 attempts at goal and saw three of those come back off the crossbar. City didn't test Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis enough, but the quality of their frontline will cause any European team problems.

With Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero both in fantastic goalscoring form, David Silva and Samir Nasri providing the ammunition and the likes of Carlos Tevez and Mario Balotelli in reserve, there shouldn't be many more nights like this where City struggle for goals. They will learn about the Champions League as a unit and they will succeed.

Aguero, Silva and Dzeko have all been in scintillating form so far this season

Napoli managed to keep the fearsome quartet of Silva, Nasri, Dzeko and Aguero relatively quiet and must be given credit for that, but City will feel confident their quality will shine through as they learn to play against resilient opposition.

They are in the proverbial 'group of death' but this is a challenge they should relish.

City have some of the finest talent in the world at their disposal and there is no reason, despite dropping two points against the Italians, why they can't progress to the knockout stages at least.

Will Bayern Munich be relishing facing City? Will Villarreal?

The truth is that the side from the Etihad Stadium are the team everybody wanted to avoid. They are dangerous, they are talented and they are strong.

Many have said Bayern's win in Villarreal suggests they may dominate the group, but it's hard to see any one team running away with it in reality.

Bayern Munich star Franck Ribery's reaction to drawing Manchester City was one of trepidation

City's next game, against Bayern at the Allianz Arena, will provide a true examination of where they are at but they are more than capable of beating the German giants and there is no reason for trepidation.

They are still learning the ropes in the Champions League, but they cannot be patronised in the same way other Champions League newbies often are.

City can and should make an impact and there is no reason to think otherwise after the Napoli game.

There was a natural nervousness among the players due to the sense of occasion at Eastlands, and perhaps the failure to take three points will provide the reality check everybody at the club needed. This is not going to be easy.

City's road to the knockout stages may be a rocky one, but they should get there.

The return fixture against Napoli will be extremely difficult due to their quality and the passion of their fans, while Villarreal and Bayern Munich possess great individual talents and find themselves in the knockout stages most seasons.

Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi is sure to cause City's defence problems

However, City's solidity at the back, creativity in midfield and quality up front should be enough to beat most teams.

With a bit more ruthlessness, they will be more than a match for anyone in this group.

In the end, a draw against Napoli was something of a relief after Gareth Barry's mistake led to Edinson Cavani's excellent opener, with Aleksandar Kolarov's superb free-kick delivering the point the home side at least deserved.

The side from Naples will go away very happy with the point and their performance suggests they will be in the reckoning for a top-two spot and qualification for the knockout stages.

Their resilience and professionalism stifled City at times and they were always dangerous going forward, so this is an occasion Mancini's team should learn from and become better as a result of it.

They will not be able to afford to miss so many chances in future games but with the quality of City's attackers, it shouldn't be long before Europe's finest are being put to the sword.