Manchester City's Pellegrini Blames Fatigue

[Folami David]

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini blamed English football's traditional Christmas fixture pile-up for his team's off-colour performance in a 1-0 Premier League win over struggling Crystal Palace on Saturday.
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A 66th-minute strike by Bosnian Edin Dzeko settled a closely-fought match in which England goalkeeper Joe Hart made a string of good saves to help extend City's home league record to 10 wins out of 10 and send them top of the table.
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But after scoring 37 goals in nine effervescent home games, it was a flat display from City who moved two points clear of Arsenal, who play on Sunday.
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"I think the team that wants to win the title must have different faces," Pellegrini told reporters. "We usually score lots of goals at home, but after 45 minutes we knew it would not be like that."
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Pellegrini made six changes to the side that beat Liverpool 2-1 on Thursday and was as frustrated as his players and the crowd as they struggled to break down a stubborn Palace defence.
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"Of course I was very concerned," he told Sky Sports.
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"Before the match, I said when we finished against Liverpool, 48 hours ... it is impossible to recover for players.
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"We didn't have our team fresh and it is very difficult when just one team want to play and the other just wants to defend. So, that was the game we saw today. That is not what we are used to do at the Etihad."
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Pellegrini also played down fears an eye injury suffered by Hart when he came out to challenge Palace striker Cameron Jerome.
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"Yes, he has a cut in his eye, but he never had any problem," said Pellegrini, who on Friday had declared Hart to be 'the best goalkeeper in England' having dropped him two months earlier.
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The Chilean also distanced himself from any suggestions that his team would now stroll to the title.
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"I repeat, there are six or seven teams that will continue fighting for the title to the end," he said.
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"Of the last eight games, we have won seven and drawn one and recovered the distance Arsenal had on our team, but we continue next Wednesday (at Swansea) and the second half of the season will be very difficult for all of us."
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Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis, who watched his team haul themselves out of the bottom three with a 1-0 win at Aston Villa on Thursday, bemoaned the fact they could not deliver a repeat.

[femifemzy3]

Blaming the opportunites. They had several chances but they refused to make is relieved in career

[Nifemi Donald]

They were not prepared for that game at all. Even Manchester United did nt show up but they were both lucky they still won.