Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is wary of his
side’s slump in form after they were knocked out of the Capital One Cup
by an in form Newcastle on Wednesday night.
The reigning cup holders conceded a goal in either half to lose out
in the fourth round of the League Cup, with Rolando Aarons and Moussa
Sissoko getting among the goals for the ‘Magpies’ at the Etihad Stadium.
And with the first Manchester Derby set for this
weekend, the Chilean boss is “worried” the Premier League champions are not taking their chance.
He said: “I think Newcastle deserved to win, although we had four or five chances to score.”
Pellegrini made seven changes from Saturday’s 2-1 league loss at West Ham but still named a strong side containing 11 internationals against a youthful Newcastle.
The defeat was their third in a difficult week. They surrendered a 2-goal half-time lead at Russian champions CSKA Moscow last week and lost to West Ham last weekend.
Four points separate third-placed City and their next league opponents,
United; a team that are five places behind their neighbours on the
standings.
“We had three similar games. We conceded two goals in each game and we had a lot of chances from which we could have scored,” Pellegrini explained.
“In one sense we are conceding easy goals through individual mistakes but we also we are not playing the way we normally do.
He added: “We are in a difficult moment with a lack of trust. Of course we must be worried- we didn’t win the three games we played this week. We must be worried about that but we must find a solution and we must address it.
“We will see with the players which is the way to try and recover that confidence because it’s not normal to see this team playing the way we are now.”
The manager defended his decision to name a strong line-up four days ahead of the Manchester Derby, with midfielder David Silver now facing fitness assessment having limped off early in the first half on last night.
“We will see tomorrow (Thursday),” said the Chilean. “David has a problem with his knee but I don’t know how serious it is.
“There was no reason why David cannot play. We played on Saturday and had four days to recover so I don’t think that was a reason. He was prepared to play but maybe not the whole game.
“For our team it is important to be involved in four competitions. A lot of people say this is not an important competition but for our team it was important to try and continue.”
And with the first Manchester Derby set for this
weekend, the Chilean boss is “worried” the Premier League champions are not taking their chance.
He said: “I think Newcastle deserved to win, although we had four or five chances to score.”
Pellegrini made seven changes from Saturday’s 2-1 league loss at West Ham but still named a strong side containing 11 internationals against a youthful Newcastle.
The defeat was their third in a difficult week. They surrendered a 2-goal half-time lead at Russian champions CSKA Moscow last week and lost to West Ham last weekend.
Manuel Pellegrini Worried About City’s Poor Run of Form. Image: Getty.
“We had three similar games. We conceded two goals in each game and we had a lot of chances from which we could have scored,” Pellegrini explained.
“In one sense we are conceding easy goals through individual mistakes but we also we are not playing the way we normally do.
He added: “We are in a difficult moment with a lack of trust. Of course we must be worried- we didn’t win the three games we played this week. We must be worried about that but we must find a solution and we must address it.
“We will see with the players which is the way to try and recover that confidence because it’s not normal to see this team playing the way we are now.”
The manager defended his decision to name a strong line-up four days ahead of the Manchester Derby, with midfielder David Silver now facing fitness assessment having limped off early in the first half on last night.
“We will see tomorrow (Thursday),” said the Chilean. “David has a problem with his knee but I don’t know how serious it is.
“There was no reason why David cannot play. We played on Saturday and had four days to recover so I don’t think that was a reason. He was prepared to play but maybe not the whole game.
“For our team it is important to be involved in four competitions. A lot of people say this is not an important competition but for our team it was important to try and continue.”
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