City manager reveals he is "worried" about his team after they slumped to 2-1 defeat at Liverpool
As Frank Lampard trotted onto the Anfield pitch in a desperate attempt to help Manchester City salvage a point to maintain their flickering title ambitions eight minutes from full-time, it offered proof that the sticking plaster has now replaced holistic therapy at the Etihad Stadium.
Lampard should be preparing for New York City’s MLS opener against Orlando City in Florida next Sunday, but circumstances have dictated that the former Chelsea midfielder instead remains in Manchester to provide some kind of inspiration and experience to Manuel Pellegrini’s squad as they pursue silverware in the Premier League and Champions League.
Lampard is 36. Great player that he has been, his entry into the fray summed up the problems now facing Pellegrini and City – issues which were exposed against a young, vibrant Liverpool showing no ill-effects from a draining Europa League trip to Istanbul which saw them return to Merseyside at 4.20am on Friday morning.
Pellegrini’s team, like the manager’s tactics, are well-worn and showing signs of being past their best.
As they headed out of Anfield, City remained in second position, five points behind Chelsea, with the leaders now having a game in hand.
But while conceding his team has problems, Pellegrini insisted that they remain focused on catching the leaders rather than escaping the chasing pack.
“We are worried about our team, not the other teams that are behind us,” Pellegrini said. “It is important to try and continue playing the normal way.
“But there were a lot of problems. There were two goals from Liverpool, very good goals in the top corner and we missed three clear chances.
“It was a close game, but Liverpool played very well and they deserved to win.”
Liverpool’s cause was aided by the below-par performances of several of Pellegrini’s players.
Yaya Toure was anonymous, despite being fresh from missing the Champions League defeat against Barcelona through suspension, while Eliaquim Mangala once again looked to be struggling to justify the £42m transfer fee sanctioned by Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football.
As for Vincent Kompany, the one-time rock of City’s defence appears locked in a downward spiral, with poor positioning, misjudgement and ill-timed tackles now peppering his performances.
When asked about his captain’s form, Pellegrini suggested that the Belgian was not the only cause for alarm.
“I am concerned about the whole team,” Pellegrini said. “We started this week against Barcelona and then today, it was not our team – we cannot lose so many balls with the technical players we have.
“That is more important than to analyse than the performance of one player. It is more important to think as a team.”
Pellegrini will ultimately be judged on the performances of his players and the success of his team and, two seasons into a three-year contract, there are no guarantees he will remain place to continue the job next season.
The Chilean’s tactics are coming under increasing scrutiny, with City proving as naïve defensively at Anfield as they were against Barcelona.
Pellegrini may have criticised his players for not applying his tactical instructions correctly against Barcelona, but as the manager, the responsibility for that lies with him.
He either communicates his message or he does not and, if it is not getting through, then Pellegrini must look in the mirror.
But it is must be remembered that Pellegrini’s appointment as manager following the sacking of Roberto Mancini two years ago was made so that he could become another spoke in that ‘holistic’ wheel dreamt up by chief executive Ferran Soriano.
If Pellegrini is judged to have failed, then Soriano and Begiristain must also answer questions from Abu Dhabi.
After all, two years into the holistic project and the team that Mancini built remains in place, with only unremarkable additions to the periphery.
Begiristain has failed to recruit the right players, while Soriano’s inability to prevent a Financial Fair Play sanction last year ensured the club was denied the ability to punch its weight in the transfer market.
Soriano produced a turn of heel matched only by Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho when he darted out of the directors’ box as soon as Mark Clattenburg’s whistle signalled full-time at the end of this defeat, but perhaps he did not want to be the man in the frame when the television cameras panned around.
That misfortune was left to Pellegrini, who admitted that his team must bounce back with victory against Leicester on Wednesday.
“We will see the reaction in the next game,” Pellegrini said. “I hope that the team will recover and we can win on Wednesday because every point we drop means it is more difficult for the title.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment