Manuel Pellegrini has said that Manchester City need to improve in the Champions League this season.
City, who have never progressed past the round of 16, will meet Juventus, Borussia Monchengladbach and Sevilla in Group D this season.
"It's very important because it's a barrier that we haven't been able to overcome for various reasons," Pellegrini told reporters.
"We've been improving. Just four years ago, Manchester City had never played in the Champions League. We qualified twice and got knocked out in the group stage.
"In the last two seasons, we've made it into the last 16, but had the bad luck to draw Barcelona on both occasions. We need to take an important step forward in Europe and I hope it can happen this year."
City will start their Champions League campaign at home to Juventus on Tuesday evening.
