Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City aspire to be champions this season and need to focus on the upcoming matches.
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Manchester City were knocking on the door from the get go against a very defensively set up Aston Villa side, who did well to keep the home side at bay in the first half.
“We are now coming into games against teams at the top of the table at the end of the season, which is not a good thing because points are crucial for them as well as us”, he told the team’s website.
“We have one game in hand but it’s more important not to think about that but just to improve our Premier League performances”.
After a scoreless first half, in which Manchester City couldn’t put away their offensive chances on goal, their first goal came in the 48th minute. “We are not just dependent on what we do, but I am sure we are going to be involved in the title race to the end”.
Both of City’s strikers had chances in the opening quarter-of-an-hour, with Aguero showing a sublime first touch to control Fernandinho’s angled chip, before cutting inside Aly Cissokho and lifting a shot goalwards from close range, with keeper Brad Guzan nudging it over the bar.
“We are not going to give up [even though] it’s a lot of points to the leaders”. That’s why previous year when we didn’t win the title it was not bad to be in second.
Fortunately, we were able to score the four goals in the second half.
Nonetheless, City saw out the rest of the game with relative ease and returned to winning ways in the Premier League. We always try to be a scoring team.
City have lost three successive Premier League games for the first time since 2008, to leave their title hopes in jeopardy before Pellegrini makes way for Pep Guardiola this summer.
Aguero blasted the spot-kick against the right-hand post, missing out on a hat-trick and allowing Villa to compose themselves at last to see out the remainder of the match with little incident. Newcastle United is our last home game of the season, and with my best intentions, I will be at Villa Park on that day. Why?
“I am not thinking about the title and not thinking about not to qualify for the Champions League”.
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“It’s already very hard outside the changing room and I don’t want anyone in the group to add problems within us”. If you go now to Leicester, last season, I think that they won 18 from 18 or 19 from 21 so be careful. That the current team’s ineptitude has led to them becoming something of a laughing stock is a great shame, but despite Remi Garde’s best efforts and his insistence that he is still fighting to achieve Premier League survival, they are just woefully inferior compared to all the other members of the top-flight.
