Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that his side’s defeat in the ‘game of six points’ against Arsenal FC last Monday was not decisive, and has emphasised the need for City to win their next two games
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The defeat to the Gunners at the Emirates has left City six points behind surprise leaders Leicester City, and 4 behind ArsA?ne Wenger’s men going into the Boxing Day fixtures. However, Pellegrini believes the match was not decisive, insisting that the Premier League title cannot be won in December.
The Chilean will be able to call upon a full first-team squad with the exception of Samir Nasri for Sunderland’s visit on Saturday, and is intent on winning the next two games to reach the half-way point of the season on a positive note.
Pellegrini believes defeat to Arsenal FC was not decisive
Although Arsenal FC executed their game plan to perfection against City and created several good opportunities to score, Pellegrini has maintained that City got the better of the Gunners in the game and were unfortunate to be on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline.
The City manager reiterated that belief in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s clash against the Black Cats, while also insisting that the defeat would not be decisive in the title race.
Pellegrini is quoted by the club’s official website as saying: “The important thing is to be involved at the end of January, then try and win the title in the remainder of the season.
a We have to try to focus game by game a the next is Sunderland, we try to beat them at home which is never an easy game,. Then we think about Leicester. We lost important points against Arsenal a a game of six points a but it was not a decisive game as I said before the match.
a You never win the title in December.”
Tour contribution against Arsenal FC highlighted
Manchester City midfielder Yaya Tour came in for criticism from pundits like Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher for his display at the Emirates, but Pellegrini has backed the Ivorian, highlighting his contribution against the Gunners.
“When you lose a game, the losers are always doing bad things,” Pellegrini added. “The first shot Arsenal had on our goal was on 33 minutes and they scored. We dominated the game a maybe we were not aggressive but we had a couple of great chances and Yaya was involved in all of that.
a I never criticise individual performances.”