Manuel Pellegrini has denied Vincent Kompany’s place in the Manchester City team is under threat following the arrival of Nicolás Otamendi, and insists his side will keep playing with two central defenders rather than moving to a three.
Having paid £32m for the Argentina international one would expect City to use Otamendi more often than not and, based on last season’s form, it was Kompany who was causing most concern in the defensive line. Eliaquim Mangala was not that impressive either, though City kept insisting with some justification that with time on his side he was an acquisition for the future. Kompany was actually rested for a short period last season but has come back looking stronger and more focused, and for Sunday’s game at Everton Pellegrini says there is no need to break up his partnership with Mangala.
“They have both started the season well, they are enjoying a good moment, so it is impossible to move them at this stage,” the City manager said. “I trust in Vincent, Mangala and Otamendi, and I think the experience of Martín Demichelis is important also. In that position now, we have very good players.”
Too many to keep happy, it might be suggested, though Pellegrini would not be drawn on whether the original plan was to send Mangala on loan to Valencia as part of the deal to bring Otamendi to England. “The facts are the facts, Mangala is here,” he said. “I think that he wanted to stay and I wanted him to stay. Competition is very important, the players who show the best performance will play.”
That even applies to the captain too, in this case Kompany. “You make a player captain for a lot of reasons,” Pellegrini said. “Because he is a good leader, because he is a good performer, because he has played for the club for many years and is an international. But for me the performance is still the most important thing. If the performance of any player is below par, then I think we must find a replacement.”
Demichelis, at 34, is reaching the stage where he cannot expect and might not even want to play every week, but as the other three are in their twenties and would not be happy with prolonged spells on the sidelines might it be possible for City to accommodate all of them by switching to a back three? “I don’t like to play that way,” Pellegrini said. “I tried it once or twice in Spain but I don’t think it is the best way to set up. I always like technical players and normally centre backs are not technical players. I try to be an attacking team and I think we can defend well enough with two centre-backs and not three. In some moments of the game maybe you can use that system in certain circumstances, but normally I won’t play with three centre-backs.”
