MANCHESTER CITY’S shock draw against bottom-placed Sunderland means they’re out of the Premier League title
race, right?
Wrong.
Yes, Manuel Pellegrini’s men face a seriously uphill battle
to edge out Liverpool and Chelsea
after dropping two crucial points at home to the Black Cats. Pellegrini himself
admitted as much.
“We are in a worse position but there are still mathematical
chances and we will fight to the end,” he said.
The maths sees City six points behind Liverpool, and four
behind Chelsea,
with a game in hand.
Pellegrini admitted last weekend’s epic loss to Liverpool was still playing on his players’ minds, and it
clearly affected them as they let a lead slip against Gus Poyet’s strugglers. “There
were a lot of things missing from the team today,” Pellegrini told Sky Sports.
“I think the most important thing is we could not take out
of our minds the game against Liverpool.”
In fact, the home side was lucky to escape with a point,
courtesy of a howler from Sunderland
goalkeeper Vito Mannone.
Despite this seemingly fatal blow, there are still a few reasons
why the blue half of Manchester
can be hopeful about taking the title. These may not be enough, but they’re a start.
1. THEY’VE DONE IT BEFORE
The good thing for Man City
is a lot of their players will feel like they’ve been here before. It was only
two years ago they were given next to no hope of finishing atop the table after
falling eight points behind Manchester United — remember them? — with five
games remaining in the 2011-12 EPL season. If that campaign taught us anything,
it’s that nothing is decided in football until ALL the full-time whistles have
been blown.
2. THEY’VE GOT THE BEST RUN HOME
Man
City run home: West Brom
(H), Crystal Palace (A), Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), West Ham (H)
Liverpool run home: Norwich
(A), Chelsea (H), Crystal Palace (A), Newcastle (H)
Chelsea run home: Sunderland (H), Liverpool (A), Norwich (H), Cardiff (A)
Don’t get us wrong — it’s not as if City will cruise to
victory in their five remaining games. Thursday morning’s result against Sunderland proves that. But the Citizens do have a big
advantage over their two title rivals because Liverpool and Chelsea have to play against each other. That
fixture on April 27 could well prove to be the title decider, just as last
weekend’s game at Anfield was billed as such. But there’s a good chance City
will end up being the major beneficiaries, as a draw between the Blues and the Reds
will bring Pellegrini’s men right back into title contention. Even a Chelsea victory could end
up tilting the balance in City’s favour.
3. THEY’VE GOT AGUERO
The star power across the park at Manchester City
tends to overshadow just how good Sergio Aguero is. The diminutive Argentine is
a force to be reckoned with, and his absence over the last few months left a
serious hole in City’s line-up despite the presence of quality strikers Edin
Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo. Aguero’s cameo off the bench against Liverpool
changed the complexion of that match, while he helped set up the opener against
Sunderland before leaving the field after an
hour to save his energy for the run home. He’ll be close to full fitness for
City’s next assignment, against West Brom this
weekend, and is likely to add some spark to a line-up that has looked tired in
recent times. And who knows, maybe we’ll be hearing the famous cry of
“Aguerooooooo” on the final day of the season yet again.
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