EPL title equation update: Manchester City has its destiny in its own hands after Chelsea’s win
EPL title update: Manuel Pellegrini insists Manchester City doesn’t have the advantage, but if it wins all its games the crown is theirs.
WITH all eyes on the titanic battle at Anfield on Sunday night, the inevitable outcome means the Barclays Premier League title race is now firmly back in Manchester City’s hands.
It’s been a topsy-turvy, unpredictable and rollicking race so far - we shouldn’t have expected anything less than another twist on Sunday.
The question now is: can City avoid another twist in the tale, or can Manuel Pellegrini’s side time its run to perfection and finish the season on top of Liverpool and Chelsea.
City skipper Vincent Kompany succinctly summed up this engrossing season while admitting that City’s players know, with a superior goal difference and game in hand, they have destiny in their own hands barring something extraordinary happening to Liverpool’s goal difference.
“It’s in our own hands and you can’t do more than that. There have been so many swaps and changes over the season, we are still very calm,” he said.
“We did what we had to do. It is difficult to predict the outcome of this league. You would be crazy to think it is over, but obviously we did our job. We are the team in the league that can’t ever give up – especially after the year we won it,” he said.
ARSENAL THEN CITY THEN CHELSEA THEN LIVERPOOL THEN .... THE NARRATIVE OF A PULSATING SEASON
Mind games and managing expectations has played such a fascinating role in the 2013-2014 campaign.
So it should come as no surprise that each manager was quick to defuse the hype after the weekend’s events.
THIRD: MANCHESTER CITY
PLAYED: 35 WON: 24 DRAWN: 5 LOST: 6 GOAL DIFFERENCE: 58 POINTS: 77
FIXTURES: Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), West Ham (H).
NEXT GAME: Sunday 4 May , 2.20am EST, Fox Sports 1 HD
“No advantage now, no, but it depends what we can do in the future, that’s very important. We have always trusted that we can do it. The players knew the score [at Anfield], but it was a very professional performance. It could have been difficult for us to manage the game but we did it very well,” Pellegrini said.
Pellegrini has maintained all season that it would finish right at the death and he just might have timed City’s season to perfection, which included a cluster of fixtures causing when his side was in all four competitions still. The crunch mid-week catch-up game against Aston Villa will be held next week.
“We always trust we can do it,” said Pellegrini after the win against Crystal Palace. “After we lost to Liverpool I said we had to play three or four games more, each team, and in football all things can happen. We just had to win our games.
“We’ll see if we cope [with the pressure]. We must win the three games. I repeat: I’ve always said that all big teams must be under pressure to win the title. They knew the score [at Anfield] and reacted in the best way: they knew if they beat Palace they had it in their hands. Now we must just think what we can do. It does not depend on other results. It’s very important to play a good game against Everton and then the last two games.”
SECOND: CHELSEA
PLAYED: 36 WON: 24 DRAWN: 6 LOST: 6 GOAL DIFFERENCE: 43 POINTS: 78
FIXTURES: Norwich (H), Cardiff (A).
NEXT GAME: Monday 5 May, 12.50am EST, Fox Sports 3 HD
Now that it worked, Jose Mourinho’s rationale for his team selection ahead of the Liverpool clash could work. He assessed it as: win two games in Europe, and Chelsea wins the UEFA Champions League. Win three games in the EPL, and Chelsea is guaranteed nothing.
So it came as no surprise to hear the Portuguese boss, lapping up the theatre of his triumph at Anfield, join Pellegrini in waving away his side’s chances.
He told Sky Sports: “We’re back in nothing. At this moment we are almost third. With Everton’s defeat (on Saturday) we were automatically qualified for the Champions League.
“Now with these three points we need one point to finish third. Champions are only one (team) and the champions will be City or Liverpool.”
In other words: pressure’s on you, Brendan and Manuel, and I’ll be waiting for you to slip up.
FIRST: LIVERPOOL
PLAYED: 36 WON:25 DRAWN: 5 LOST: 6 GOAL DIFFERENCE: 50 POINTS: 80
FIXTURES: Palace (A), Newcastle (H).
NEXT GAME: Tuesday 6 May, 4.50am EST, Fox Sports 3 HD
Brendan Rodgers maintained a positive front after Liverpool’s disappointing defeat, declaring that the positive attitude that has held Liverpool in good stead this season will remain.
“City will now feel they can go on and win their games,” Rodgers told reporters. “We’ll focus on the next game and continue with that positive mentality that we’ve had throughout the season, because that’s the reason why we are where we are.”
But with the defeat, also came perspective - something that probably won’t be of consolation to Liverpool fans, or Steven Gerrard, if they end up so close, yet so far, from the elusive crown.
“I am very proud of the players. All the money that has been spent at the top end of the league and we are two points clear of Chelsea. If we win our last two games we will finish above them and maybe Manchester City. There is still a way to go. Manchester City now will feel they can go on and win their games. For us, we will just recover now and focus on our next game,” he said.
It will also be fascinating to see whether the contest harmed the relationship between protegee and mentor, with Mourinho’s gameplan triumphing over Rodgers’s positive, entertaining philosophy.
“But it is the polar opposite to how we work and hopefully over time our offensive mentality and aggression will get us long-term results,” he added, after declaring Mourinho “parked two buses”.