In Manchester City’s locker room everyone knows their chances of retaining the title could be slipping away if the score against Chelsea doesn’t turn out their way. Coach Manuel Pellegrini is the first to admit it.
“Chelsea will be a very decisive game. We will try to win that game to close that gap again,” Pellegrini mentioned after his team lost 0-2 against Arsenal at Etihad Stadium.
After 22 games, Chelsea leads the Premier League standings with 52 points and is followed by Man City with 47. Southampton is in third with 42.
“We must close the gap to two points. I hope we are going to recover and play the way we are playing so far,” Pellegrini said after a game where he considered his team had a lack of creativity.
The English Premier League's top 5 ahead of Matchday 23
Arsenal’s win boosted them to the top five in the standings. Even though the scoreboard suggests an easy win for Arsene Wenger and his boys, he was not fully satisfied.
“We have a good solidarity and the regret is that we did not always take advantage of the situations we created,” said Wenger after the game.
Arsenal got ahead with a penalty kick that Santi Cazorla converted. The Chilean coach considered it wasn’t the right call.
“There are two principal reasons we lost. One was the penalty, which changed the game. I don’t think it was a penalty,” Pellegrini said despite still giving credit to Arsenal for the win.
A header by Olivier Giroud in the 67th minute would seal the deal for the Gunners. They now head back to London to host Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Chelsea is coming off a fantastic 5-0 win over Swansea City. With the game at Stamford Bridge being 12 days away (January 31), the Citizens should have enough time to plan their attack.
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