It’s hard to tell if Manuel Pellegrini simply comes off the wrong way because of bad English, or is he really out of touch of what really happens in Manchester City matches, as he blamed Crystal Palace and their manager for using negative tactics, seemed to be unaware of Joe Hart’s stitches and talk about his team like they’re a bunch of young unknowns coming out of nowhere.
It was frustrating for Manchester City in their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, eventually bringing them to the top of the Premier League, at least for the time being. His team struggled all match long with creating meaningful chances, as Palace parked the bus and didn’t make any attempt, even after conceding the goal, to go out on attacks of their own except for a few rare occasions.
Joe Hart, believe it or not, was chosen as the man of the match. Maybe it had something to do with his bruised eye which required five stitches after colliding with Cameron Jerome, but maybe Pellegrini didn’t really see what actually happened on the pitch. In any case, he was quite angry about facing 10 men behind the ball and not getting a red carpet into the net.
Just one team wanted to play and the other wanted to stay in their own goal. Our team was not fresh enough to make all the movements you have to do when you have 10 players inside their own box.
Considering how dominant Manchester City were against Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal when hosting them at the Etihad, is it really a surprise Crystal Palace didn’t really make any attempt to open things up? Toni Pulis wasn’t too rattled by the “accusations”, which he has heard plenty of times before as a Stoke City manager.
Did they give Joe Hart man of the match? There you go. Was that the team that cost £350 million? I thought our lads were brilliant today and I don’t talk about other teams.
Another interesting Pellegrini quote had to do with Manchester City becoming the top team in the league. It’s not a surprise to anyone, as managers continue to say this is City’s title to lose. However, Pellegrini, somehow, is trying to play the underdog card, which he simply doesn’t have.
Eight games ago, nobody believed we could make up six points to Arsenal. We did it. We won the last seven games and we drew one. We must continue this way.
Yes, it’s quite a shocker that the richest team in the league – the Champions from 2012 and the runners-up from last season are currently leading the Premier League.