Manuel Pellegrini was in honest mood in the buildup to Manchester City’s trip to Stoke City on Wednesday. Yes, he is frustrated at allowing Chelsea to gallop off into the distance for a second time this season. And yes, he admitted his team must win all of their last 14 matches to have any chance of overtaking José Mourinho’s side and defending the title but he was not downcast.
On 29 October, following the 2-0 loss to Newcastle United at the Etihad Stadium, City faced a nine-point gap to Chelsea, though they had played a game fewer. If the champions fail to win at Stoke, where City have never won in the Premier League, and Chelsea defeat Everton on the same night, the deficit will again be at least nine points with each club having played 25 games.
“It’s frustrating. We had a very good month in December, won a lot of games,” Pellegrini said. “We got to the top of the table but then for different reasons we didn’t score. But this team continues to have a lot of possession, good attitude, we are running a lot. To be seven points behind again is disappointing for all of us. But it doesn’t mean that we are not going to fight to recover those points.”
The message to his players is make it a clean sweep of wins from Stoke to Southampton on the final day. “When you have 42 points to fight for you must do it,” he said.
The manager’s concern about a lack of firepower is underlined by some startling statistics considering the combined £88m spend invested in Sergio Agüero, Edin Dzeko and the £23m Stevan Jovetic, the club’s frontline strikers.
Injuries are a factor but still do not explain away why Dzeko has not scored a league goal since 27 September, Agüero has none in 2015 despite featuring in four matches, and why Jovetic’s finish on New Year’s Day is the only one by a City striker of the last 16 registered in the league, an unwanted sequence that began on 6 December and takes in 10 matches.
Yaya Touré’s absence for four league matches owing to Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ivory Coast has also not helped: City have failed to win any of these so there has been no victory since 1 January. This all means a sense of alarm that was palpable following City’s insipid draw with Hull City on Saturday will become a full-blown crisis if by 10pm Wednesday Chelsea have pulled even further ahead.
In the 2011-12 championship triumph Roberto Mancini’s vintage trailed by eight points with six matches remaining and went on to win all of these, Agüero’s memorable finish in the dying seconds against Queens Park Rangers breaking Manchester United hearts and claiming a first Premier League crown since 1968.
On 13 April last year, after losing 3-2 at Liverpool, City were seven points behind Brendan Rodgers’ side – though they did have two matches in hand. They went on to draw one and win five of their final six games to take the title. Yet while City may take heart from these come-from-behind triumphs it seems unlikely Mourinho’s side would allow a second handsome lead to slip as they press to take the club to a first title for five years.
Since Stoke were promoted for the 2008-9 season they have never lost on their own patch to City. In six matches, the Potters have won once and recorded five draws. Factor in how Mark Hughes’ men turned City over 1-0 at the Etihad in the reverse fixture earlier this term, plus the champions’ dismal recent form, and the auguries are hardly positive for Chelsea’s lead to remain “only” seven points by Thursday morning.
Pellegrini said his squad “are not relaxed” when asked if there is an intensity-deficit but City’s established A-listers do lack real competition. There is little depth to the manager’s first team which points to a failed recruitment policy since Txiki Begiristain joined in October 2012 and Pellegrini followed the next summer.
Eleven major signings have been added by the sporting director and manager and none have worked apart from, arguably, Martín Demichelis. Eliaquim Mangala is the headline disappointment, the £42m paid for the defender appearing more exorbitant with each uneven display.
This means that since the close season of 2013 in Fernandinho (£30m), Jesús Navas (£14.9m), Jovetic (£23m), Álvaro Negredo (£20m), Fernando (£12m), Bacary Sagna (free), Frank Lampard (free), Willy Caballero (£6m), Mangala (£42m), and Bruno Zuculini (£3m), a total of £149.9m has been spent on 10 players, all of whom have failed to equip the club with the two world-class footballers for each position that has been the aim.
The latest recruit is Wilfried Bony, who cost £26m. “We brought Bony because I think that we need another striker, a box player,” said Pellegrini of the forward who is yet to play for City as he has also been away with Ivory Coast. “It’s important to have different choices.”
And it is vital to start scoring more and winning matches again. Beginning at Stoke on Wednesday evening.
