EPL:Man City 'suffered Liverpool hangover'

16 April 2014
Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini said
his players' minds were still on Sunday's
defeat at leaders Liverpool during the draw
with Sunderland that hurt their Premier
League title hopes.
City salvaged a 2-2 draw after Samir Nasri's
late goal but sit six points behind Liverpool
with a game in hand.
Pellegrini said: "We did not play well but we
had in our mind the game against Liverpool.
We did not deserve to win."
"We needed a win, we will see what will
happen but our chances are less."
Fernandinho scored after 114 seconds but
two second-half goals from Connor
Wickham earned the Black Cats a 2-1 lead
before keeper Vito Mannone fumbled a Nasri
shot over the line.
Pellegrini added: "The team missed a lot of
things, the way we played, the way we
defended and our character - we could not
take out of our mind the game against
Liverpool.
"At this moment it is more mental than
physical. When it no longer depends on
what you can do, it is very frustrating but we
must finish season the way we have done
practically the whole season. We must try to
win our last five games - and hope that team
will do it."
City, who were without David Silva,
struggled for fluency following the 3-2
defeat at Anfield despite having Sergio
Aguero back in the side after a hamstring
injury.
But with their title chances hanging by a
thread, the race could yet take a further
twist as Liverpool host Chelsea on 27 April.
Pellegrini's side are still to host West Brom,
with trips to Crystal Palace and Everton to
follow before home games against Aston
Villa and West Ham.
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho said he still
believed City could repeat their title triumph
of 2012.
He added: "It's really very hard, after the bad
result [against Liverpool]. We have to keep
our head up and now need to look at our
next game against West Brom here at home.
"We pressed high and won a lot of balls but
we let our performance drop.
"We believe we can win the title. Chelsea
and Liverpool have four games and they may
drop some points - we think we can still win
the title."