“It is important to be a solid, consistent team and to recover our normal style of play and that will give us the points we need to win it”. “In the first and second half we had clear-cut chances to draw, but at the end of the day it’s 1-0 to them”.
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It was that single goal from Juve’s Croatian striker which separated the sides in Turin and although Pellegrini was satisfied with the performance, the result was more troubling.
He said: “I think that we finished with the game – that very bad game that we played on Saturday – on Sunday morning”.
Manchester City, who are now second in Group D of the Champions League with nine points from four games, will next face Southampton in a Premier League fixture on Saturday. The humbling defeat to Liverpool recently suggested that the back four needs an injection of energy, and thus, it may not be the last bid that City make for the enterprising full-back.
“We hope we don’t lose him but for if for some reason he can not play I have trust in Willy Caballero”.
But a defeat that was more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests means they are now near certain to finish runners-up – with the likes of Barca, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich lying in wait.
AFP PHOTO / MARCO BERTORELLOMARCO BERTORELLO/AFP/Getty Images TURIN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 25: Fans take a selfie prior to the UEFA Champions League group stage match between Juventus and Manchester City FC at Juventus Arena on November 25, 2015 in Turin, Italy.
Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that – consciously or not – the players were guilty of slacking off in the league after clinching their place in the last-16 of the Champions League.
City spurned a great chance in a bright start to the second half when Fernando rose above the Juve defence at a corner to fire in a header which Buffon turned onto the post and then smothered while under pressure from Martin Demichelis.
Paul Pogba was key in everything Juve did well in the game though Man City also had chances of their own.
Aguero, largely starved of service, had a 67th-minute volley deflected wide before making way for Sterling and Pellegrini’s new attacking spearhead endured a moment to forget 10 minutes from time. The Argentine is without much game experience recently so will surely be tested in City’s next match against Southampton.
“In the Champions League you have to attack anyway, these games are played on two fronts”.
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“I’ve got to compliment the lads on going through with a game to spare”, he said.
