Manchester City returned to winning ways against West Brom today and did so convincingly after they dispatched Tony Pulis’ men by three goals and in the process, have reduced the lead at the top to three points.
The pressure was on Manuel Pellegrini after his side were knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in midweek, but they showed none of the disappointment and looked bright from the start. However, much of that was because of the early sending off as the baggies were reduced to 10-men after just one minute. The game had it’s talking point in the second minute after referee Neil Swarbrick sent off the wrong man. Craig Dawson should have been shown the red card, but instead it was Gareth McAuley who was given his marching orders.
From then on, it was always going to be an uphill battle for West Brom and their defense finally succumbed in the 27th minute after Wilfried Bony scored his first goal for the club. Fernando doubled City’s lead in the 40th minute and it was pretty much game over in the first half. David Silva completed the rout after scoring in the 77th minute after he guided the ball past Myhill.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini was happy with the result but said that if Chelsea don’t drop points then there isn’t much his side can do other than keep winning their games, a We have to play eight games more, we can win the eight games and if Chelsea dona t drop points we cannot win the title,a he added. a So the important thing is not to think about other teams, to think about our team, improve and win the next game which is Crystal Palace.
a I dona t think that our fans dona t believe we can do it, the important thing is to demonstrate playing the way we did today that we will try to win.
a I normally try and see the games against teams we must play in the future. We arena t going to play Chelsea because we have already played them twice, so it is not the most important.
a I may see Manchester United against Liverpool because we have to play United in another two games. I repeat, I am not thinking about Chelsea.a
He also praised Bony for his contribution and goal, “It is important for him because he has just arrived in our squad and he has come in from playing six games in 18 days in the African Cup of Nations,a said Pellegrini. a That is not good at this moment of the season for the players, and that is why he is not always in the starting XI.
a It is the important thing, not just for Bony but for every player, to take chances in the way he did today,a he added.
