Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger states that Manchester City head coach Manuel Pellegrini has excelled at the club despite their late-season stumbles in pursuit of a place in the top four.
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Manuel Pellegrini could not hide his disappointment after his final home game as Manchester City manager ended in a damaging 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday.
If anything, they’re progressing quite well with Ronald Koeman as manager and could be one of the more underrated Premier League sides in recent seasons.
Having seen his team tamely concede defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday, it threatens to be a miserable end to Pellegrini’s three-year tenure, which has yielded the 2013-14 Premier League title and two League Cups.
The crowd were deflated by the result and the majority had left before City’s players returned to the field for their traditional end-of-season parade, prior to which Pellegrini also addressed fans.
Dropping down to the Europa League would represent a wretched legacy for Pellegrini, who led City to the Champions League semifinals for the first time this season. The Reds now have the chance to overtake the Blues by winning their game in hand on Tuesday evening (10/05/16).
City face Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, when United host Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
City though nearly won the game late on, only for Wilfried Bony’s shot to hit the crossbar.
But he said: “I was disappointed not to win the game. We like to play in Europe, and it’s important for the club and the players”.
Arsenal, who remain in third after the result, are not yet certain of Champions League football, but the point makes it highly unlikely they will miss out. Wenger added. “We tried to keep him on the pitch and straight away he tried to move on and he said it was impossible”.
The stands had largely emptied when Pellegrini told the supporters: “For me it’s been three wonderful, unforgettable years”.
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“It’s very disappointing, especially with the way we started the season but we are to blame”, said Sagna. “I believe we can be the best team and if we play like we did [against Arsenal] then we are the best team but we have to play like this all season”. We’ve been fighting hard, mentally and physically, but I still think we looked good out there [against Southampton]. “We didn’t win this game because we conceded two goals, not because we felt pressure”.
