Manuel Pellegrini insists that he does not fear for his job despite Manchester City falling to a defeat at Crystal Palace that leaves the reigning champions fourth in the Premier League, nine points behind Chelsea at the top and in a battle for automatic Champions League qualification.
City were beaten 2-1 in south London despite dominating for large periods of the game, Glenn Murray and Jason Puncheon scoring for Alan Pardew’s side before a late strike from Yaya Touré set up a tense finish. The result means they have not won away from Eastlands since mid-February and increases the pressure on Pellegrini.
The Chilean did not concede the title to Chelsea in the aftermath of defeat, defiantly claiming that he is focused on his own team’s results rather than potential permutations at the summit of the division. However, Chelsea have a game in hand over City and any turnaround now would require a remarkable collapse from José Mourinho’s side.
Asked if he was worried for his job, Pellegrini said: “No. [I am] never concerned about my job. That’s the only thing I’m never concerned about. I do my work and am very happy. You maybe have a difficult season, but you never worry about things like this.
“It’s difficult to understand the result. We played a very good game from beginning to end, had a lot of chances to score. Crystal Palace scored the first goal which was clearly offside, and then a beautiful free-kick. It’s difficult to understand, but football happens like this.
“In different moments in football, you can win or lose. I hope we continue playing like we did today and we are more lucky. Every point you drop makes it more difficult, but it’s the same answer. We are not thinking about Chelsea or the title. Just about the next game at Old Trafford.”
Palace’s opening goal from Murray came in controversial circumstances. Scott Dann appeared to be in an offside position during the buildup and City’s players protested vehemently to the referee, Michael Oliver.
“It was a clear offside,” added Pellegrini. “The first minute, there was another clear offside. The mistake the referee can do … there was also after that a clear penalty and a lot of things happened in the game. But with the way we played, we must win this game.”
City go into their next match, at Manchester United on Sunday, trailing their local rivals by one point in the hunt for a Champions League spot. Only the top three qualify automatically for the tournament but Pellegrini dismissed such concerns. “I’m not thinking about that,” he said. “I’m trying to win the next game.”
For Crystal Palace and Pardew, the mood was certainly contrasting. Selhurst Park was buoyant once again as Palace propelled themselves to 11th in the table, a fine feat given they were embroiled in a relegation fight when Pardew succeeded Neil Warnock in January.
“There wasn’t too much of a secret tonight,” said Pardew. “It was about resilience and good organisation. Great character in the team. It was an important first goal tonight to set the mood for the game. We managed to get it. I was disappointed we didn’t control it better in the first half than we did, but we got another immediately in the second half. We got a bit of luck.”
Regarding the title race, Pardew said: “It’s difficult now, with nine points being the gap. A long haul. Psychologically for Chelsea, with all the pack closing in on them, the next defeat or draw for Chelsea will be a big test. You wouldn’t want to lose that kind of lead.
“City are going to have to play on that. There’s a long way to go still, a lot of points up for grabs. But I can only look at us: we came up against a committed team; they weren’t lacklustre or poor. They were very good and we had to ride our luck.”
