Frustrated Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini rues dropped points against Burnley
Monday 29 December 2014 08:21, UK
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini bemoaned his side’s failure to beat relegation-threatened Burnley at the Etihad Stadium.
The champions had looked set to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea, who were held 1-1 at Southampton earlier in the day, to just one point after going in at half-time leading 2-0 following strikes from David Silva and Fernandinho.
However, the visitors pulled a goal back through midfielder George Boyd early in the second period, albeit from an offside position, before then taking advantage of a combination of the home side’s obvious nerves and lethargy to equalise thanks to a stunning Ashley Barnes effort nine minutes from time.
And a frustrated Pellegrini claimed after the match that his side had wasted a great chance to put pressure on their rivals at the top of the table.
“We missed a big opportunity to get two more points leading 2-0 at half-time,” said Pellegrini.
“And maybe everyone thought the game was over then, but I always say that the game is never over until the last whistle.”
However, while the Chilean was disappointed that the officials had failed to spot that Burnley’s first goal was offside, he was also honest enough to admit that his team did not play well enough after the break to claim all three points.
And Pellegrini blamed both the exacting Christmas schedule, with City having played West Bromwich Albion on Friday, as well as the state of the Hawthorns pitch, for City’s lacklustre second-half display.
“Unfortunately their first goal gave them a lot of trust, and it was a clear offside, but it was a mistake by the referee, and after that they controlled the game,” Pellegrini said.
“And for our team it was very difficult in the second half, we felt the last game 48 hours before, and that pitch against West Bromwich was very heavy.
“In the second half when they made it 2-2, I really felt that we did not have the legs to try to score, we had two shots, one from Nasri and one from Jovetic, but we could not have more shots than that.
“Their first goal gave them trust, as in the first half they did not have any clear chances, and then after that we did not also play well in the second half.
“And Burnley are a brave team that always tries to attack with two strikers, they always go forward, so it was difficult and from a rebound they scored a beautiful goal.”
