Three reasons Manchester City can win Premier League title despite draw against Sunderland
MANCHESTER City fans will be down in the dumps at the moment, so we’ve cheered them up with a few reasons why they can still win the EPL title.
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.