Tag: City

Manchester City returned to form in the best possible manner after a 7-0 win in the Premier league. They thrashed relegation threatened opponents Norwich at the Etihad stadium to move within six points of table leaders Arsenal, who went on to enjoy a 2-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday. The away from of City has been susceptible, but they have been quite brilliant at home. It was once again demonstrated with a high-intensity performance against Norwich. There were seven different positives for Pellegrini in terms of goal scorers. He said after the match that the intensity of the team was giving him a lot of joy.

City’s recent loss against Chelsea had put them in a distant seventh place, which increased the pressure on Pellegrini. City have not finished outside the top two in the last two seasons. Johnson’s own goal after just 16 minutes put City on their way, as they raced to a 4-0 lead within half-time. David Silva, Nastasic and Negredo were the scorers. This great scoreline did not prevent City from relaxing in the second half. They continued their domination with goals from Yaya Touré, Sergio Aguero, and Edin Dzeko.

Pellegrini said that it was normal for the team to relax after such a brilliant first half, but he is happy that his team did not relax.

“It was a really good performance. The team played really well during the 90 minutes, not only the first half. Normally when winning 4-0 at half-time, in the second half a team finish or stop. But the team continued playing exactly the same and that’s very important for me. It is the way we work every day. It is so important for me to see the way I want them to play. They are very good technical players,” said Pellegrini.

Sky sports pundit Graeme Souness is of the opinion that Chilean manager Manuel Pellegrini will be able to lead Manchester City to title success this campaign. City watched archrivals Manchester United lift their 20th league title last season. Even more than that disappointment, City were thought to be extremely concerned about the failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions league in consecutive seasons. This led to the arrival of Pellegrini, whose will be experiencing English football for the first time. He has managed clubs only in Spain and South America.

His biggest job till date was at Real Madrid, but he did not last more than 12 months. He also did not win any major trophies during his time at Real Madrid, which has led to many believing that Pellegrini will take some time adapting to English football. Souness, though, thinks that the manager has enough quality to have led to teams into the semifinals of the Champions league. This will certainly hold him in good stead. The absence of Sir Alex Ferguson makes it a little bit easier for Pellegrini, who will win the league title in his first season according to Souness.

City have already spent close to £ 100 million on improving their squad.

“If you look at what Roberto Mancini did last year. He won the league the year before scoring the most goals and conceding the fewest. So what does he decide to do? He changes the system. Why? Why would you do that? Because I believe a year ago City had the strongest group and I believe now they have the strongest group. But that does not mean they are going to win it. But I do like the manager they have got. I think he’s a manager who keeps it simple,” said the former Liverpool manager.