A shock exit for Manchester City last night in the capital one cup, typified a bad few weeks for the Champions who have only won 6 in 15 this season, and with their array of talent it is not something we have come accustomed to. Admirably Pellegrini played a strong side as the holders looked to progress, however fortune isn’t with the brave on this occasion as both Silva and Toure now look like doubts for the Manchester derby.
This was no snatch & grab from Newcastle who were more than a match for City, even with a reserve side being put out, City struggled to reach the Magpie’s tenacity for most of the match, only showing any sort of fight after they went two goals down and a tiring Newcastle retreated. Ryan Taylor with a deserved Man of the Match after two years out with injury, signalled a perfect performance that saw a comfortable 2-0 victory for Newcastle.
Going forward the Champions still looked a threat when they decided to get out of second gear (which was rare), but defensively Mangala showed no promise and made countless errors; for a ball playing defender he made too many mistakes. Perhaps harsh on the £37M man who has been slow to adapt to the demands of Premier League football. Don’t be surprised to see Demichelis start this weekend in his place.
Both the Arrons & Sissoko goals came from a laps in concentration, Fernandinho giving the ball away in the first half & his mistake to allow Sissoko to breeze past him and Sagna to place the ball into the corner. If Manchester City play in any sort of manner against the attack heavy Manchester United this weekend, I fear a cricket score.
The Champions need change & fast, they are out of the Capital One Cup, on the verge of being knocked out of the Champions league and come Kick off in the Manchester Derby this Sunday, they are more than likely to be nine points adrift of early pace setters Chelsea. The players have to be looked at they are top quality, but seem to be once again suffering from second season syndrome and already giving up on the title.
However, the fingers should be pointed at Manuel Pellegrini, in the league his side has been found out with 4-4-2 as admirable as he has been in sticking to his principles, it has to change they have been figured out. Look at Van Gaal 3-5-2 didn’t work he changed, before him Ferguson a fan of 4-4-2 changed to a 4-4-1-1 to allow an extra body in the midfield and in the Champions league away from home would always revert to a 4-3-3. The best adapt, and Pellegrini is quickly showing he is not among them.
This weekend maybe a turning point in reinvigorating the players, staff, the manager and even the whole club, because they need a lift more than ever. But if the Chilean remains stubborn to his ways then you can expect more results like yesterday. The time has come for change.