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It’s been a Premier League campaign full of regret for Manchester City. Inconsistency has blighted them, denying them the chance to compete properly for the most open title in two decades.
It’s a huge missed opportunity. The Leicester City story has been genuinely inspiring—a throwback to the
days when social mobility in English football wasn’t restricted by entrenched wealth among the elite. However, for this City side to be 12 points behind them with three games left to play doesn’t reflect well on manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Claudio Ranieri’s side have performed superbly, and in N'Golo Kante, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, they have perhaps the three best players in the division this season, but City have a glittering array of stars who should have done better.
Pellegrini must be furious. Yes, he’s had a vast injury list to deal with, and, yes, the Premier League is now more unpredictable than ever, with pretty much every side in the league capable of getting a result against any other. But struggling to ensure a top-four finish with the talent he has at his disposal simply isn’t good enough.
Their Capital One Cup triumph brought some mid-season cheer, with their win over Liverpool at Wembley an enjoyable occasion for the fans. However, it’s in the UEFA Champions League where their best moments have come.
Brilliant performances away against Sevilla, Dynamo Kiev and Paris Saint-Germain have helped them to their first-ever semi-final in the competition, with their 0-0 draw against Real Madrid on Tuesday meaning they will travel to the Spanish capital next week with a real chance of progressing to the final.
For a side who had struggled badly on the European stage in recent seasons, it represents genuine improvement. Their players now appear to believe they belong at that level and feel they can compete with the very best.
One of Pellegrini’s primary objectives when he took over in 2013 was to ensure the club improved and developed in Europe’s elite club competition. On the evidence of this season, he’s delivered emphatically, and Pep Guardiola will inherit a group of players far better placed to win the competition when he takes over from the Chilean on July 1. Who knows, they may even manage it before he arrives.
It’s been a mixed season, then, and here we look at the five games City fans will look back on and wish they’d gone differently. Unsurprisingly, they are all Premier League fixtures.
It’s a huge missed opportunity. The Leicester City story has been genuinely inspiring—a throwback to the
days when social mobility in English football wasn’t restricted by entrenched wealth among the elite. However, for this City side to be 12 points behind them with three games left to play doesn’t reflect well on manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Claudio Ranieri’s side have performed superbly, and in N'Golo Kante, Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, they have perhaps the three best players in the division this season, but City have a glittering array of stars who should have done better.
Pellegrini must be furious. Yes, he’s had a vast injury list to deal with, and, yes, the Premier League is now more unpredictable than ever, with pretty much every side in the league capable of getting a result against any other. But struggling to ensure a top-four finish with the talent he has at his disposal simply isn’t good enough.
Their Capital One Cup triumph brought some mid-season cheer, with their win over Liverpool at Wembley an enjoyable occasion for the fans. However, it’s in the UEFA Champions League where their best moments have come.
Brilliant performances away against Sevilla, Dynamo Kiev and Paris Saint-Germain have helped them to their first-ever semi-final in the competition, with their 0-0 draw against Real Madrid on Tuesday meaning they will travel to the Spanish capital next week with a real chance of progressing to the final.
For a side who had struggled badly on the European stage in recent seasons, it represents genuine improvement. Their players now appear to believe they belong at that level and feel they can compete with the very best.
One of Pellegrini’s primary objectives when he took over in 2013 was to ensure the club improved and developed in Europe’s elite club competition. On the evidence of this season, he’s delivered emphatically, and Pep Guardiola will inherit a group of players far better placed to win the competition when he takes over from the Chilean on July 1. Who knows, they may even manage it before he arrives.
It’s been a mixed season, then, and here we look at the five games City fans will look back on and wish they’d gone differently. Unsurprisingly, they are all Premier League fixtures.
