Cliches that happen to be untrue, part 185: there are no easy games in the Premier League. Of course there are – we have all seen them. Sometimes opponents just fail to turn up, sometimes underdogs will be too overawed or daunted to give a good account of themselves, and often – after the event – the losing manager will admit it.
Perhaps a more honest claim for the league’s competitiveness would be to say that you never actually know when these occasions will arise. The top level of English football is unpredictable in that sense, at least. Good teams sometimes have off days, relegation scrappers frequently take points from the top sides.
That, according to Manuel Pellegrini, is what cost Manchester City the title last season, and the manager does not mind using the E word either. “We did not lose the title in our meetings with Chelsea, because both of them were draws, even though we played well,” he explains. “Our problem was dropping points against the relegation teams. Chelsea were more consistent, they deserved to win the title. The reason we didn’t was because we made too many mistakes and lost some easy games.”
Of course, if you regard a game as easy, then proceed to lose it, it rather suggests it might not have been so easy after all, though it is not difficult to see the point Pellegrini is making. Chelsea did not trip up against lesser sides so often last season and, as a result, when the showdowns against their main title rivals came along, they were able to regard a draw as a positive because no ground had been lost.
“I think we need to be more consistent,” Pellegrini says. That sentiment has been uttered so many times by City managers over the years it would hardly be a surprise to see it incorporated into the club crest, thought it is easy to forget that today’s opponents and defending champions – now a byword for remorseless, crushing efficiency – were famous for their own wild fluctuations in form before José Mourinho got a grip on them a decade ago.
Chelsea were most people’s tip for the title this season, though that was before Mourinho managed to make a chump of himself on day one. Two home points dropped against Swansea was bad enough, without allowing an unnecessary squabble with the club medical staff to take on a life of its own.
As a result Mourinho will arrive in Manchester slightly on the defensive, or at least slightly more on the defensive than usual, while Pellegrini’s start to the season has been serene. A contract extension against expectation, a critically acclaimed opening victory at West Bromwich Albion and kind words at last for Raheem Sterling.
Just about the only cloud on City’s horizon is that Sergio Agüero is still being rehabilitated gently after his Copa América exertions and Pellegrini would have preferred such a big game to come a little later in the season, though as he points out, Chelsea probably think the same thing.
“Sergio has done everything we asked of him in training without problem – I don’t think it would be a risk for him to play,” Pellegrini says. “Maybe this is not the best moment for such an important game but it is the same for both teams. No one has an advantage, except we have home advantage. We cannot be thinking about winning the title in the second game of the season but we must remember the importance of picking up as many points as we can at home.”
Pellegrini’s commitment to attacking, entertaining football can be seen in his willingness to make Sterling his main summer capture when everyone was telling him it was the defence that was the problem. “As managers, we must take care of the Premier League,” he says. “It has a lot of fans and, like me, they want to see a good game until the end and the more goals the better. That does not mean we should not defend, but it should never be our intention to score only one goal then try to finish the game.”
In terms of defence, Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala were the central partners preferred in the opening game, with both managing to answer some of the questions that were raised over their performances last season. The captain took some flak over his own form, plus some extra for his lack of leadership qualities, something Pellegrini says goes with the territory if a fancied team has a disappointing season, though Kompany is ready to start afresh with a clean slate.
“A number of things went wrong last season,” Kompany says. “It would be wrong to say it was a bad season overall, but if you don’t hit your targets you have failed. We had good spells but not over the whole season. Chelsea were the strongest. We just couldn’t produce that.” Of the criticism, Kompany simply shrugs and promises to try to put things right. “You know who you have to listen to,” he says. “You can’t do everything perfect. If you went through the whole team and asked them what they thought of last season no one would be very happy, except perhaps Sergio and Harty. If you lose a game don’t think you are going to be a hero. That’s football.”
Kompany cites John Terry as an example of how defenders can come back from criticism and use their experience to good effect. “Two or three years ago he was written off more than any other defender in the league,” he says. “It just shows this is a position where experience can be beneficial. You certainly have to know what you are doing when you are up against a striker like Diego Costa.
“I think he’s a special breed of striker. He plays with an edge. Rooney has it too, and so does Suárez. They want to use more than just their feet to get their goals but I like it. It is a side of the game I enjoy, even though when you play against a striker like that you can never predict the outcome.
“I could be having the best game of my life and they still might score a goal, they are just so good. Chelsea are a tough nut to crack, there’s no doubt about that. Twice we were better last season but both times they got the result they wanted. That’s what we need to avoid this season. To beat them would be a great achievement for us.”
