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Mario Balotelli wasn't the only one left feeling a bit green around the gills in Naples, but Roberto Mancini's refusal to admit Champions League defeat strikes a chord today.


They love his defiant "Never say never", although tribalfootball.com is just as intrigued by whether Mario - City's scorer against Napoli - fell victim to a dodgy pizza.

Balo was sick on the pitch, but there was no Pizzagate to follow Chipgate, as they report after someone buttonholed Roberto to see if Mario opted for the extra anchovies.

"Mancini rubbished suggestions the maverick Italian forward might have been ill after being spotted in a pizzeria in Naples with his girlfriend on the eve of the match.

"Mancini said: 'He was sick but he didn't have many problems. He has a small fever, it was nothing serious.

"'He had my permission to see his girlfriend for half an hour - it was only to say hello to his girlfriend in a pizzeria. He did not have a pizza.'"

Most other sites are happy to run with Roberto's quotes to Sky Sports in the aftermath of that 2-1 setback that now makes beating Bayern Munich an absolute necessity.

At football365.com, they report that "Mancini believes Villarreal have every chance of beating the Italians, while his own charges can overcome (Bayern) in a fortnight's time".

They quote the boss: "It is the first time we have played in the Champions League but I don't think Villarreal will lose another game, they can win or draw - why not?

Everything is not finished - never say never

We suspect there will be a banner or two reflecting those words on 7 December at the Etihad.

Newspaper reporters meanwhile do their best to convey the crackling atmosphere at the tie. Henry Winter's evocative despatch appears on independent.ie as well as in the Telegraph.

He writes: "Mancini's men had stepped into this Italian cauldron knowing they had to silence the fervent locals. The tifosi never stopped their pyrotechnics. This was Dante's Inferno with a running track."

Crikey, stand well back. He adds, ominously: "For those claiming the group stage is boring, Mancini's side now face the toughest of assignments at home to Bayern Munich. The Germans may have qualified but they would enjoy nothing more than sending the big-spenders into the Europa League."

Never say never, Henry. Never say never.