There has been a new chief complainer in town since Manuel Pellegrini arrived at the Etihad last season. The title used to belong solely to Arsene Wenger but from here on out it falls squarely on the Manchester City manager’s shoulders. After Chelsea FC came within minutes of taking all three points at the Etihad, Pellegrini complained about Jose Mourinho’s tactics and called them negative.
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Pellegrini went as far as comparing Chelsea to Stoke City for their style of play, the same team that came to the Etihad and left with a 1-0 win and three points. The City manager made similar comments after the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea last season and even said he’d prefer Liverpool to win the title over the Blues because of their style of football.
"“I think it was very similar to the Stoke game. It was very difficult because they have very good players, but they had nine players in front of their box. We had chances, especially in the second half, to open the scoring, but we couldn’t do it. After they scored we showed our character, with the way we played with ten men.I think it will be very difficult to defend the title because teams are playing the way Chelsea played against us. I didn’t think they had an intention to win the game, just to score on the counter-attack. It wasn’t a pleasure to draw today.”-Manuel PellegriniSource: Sky Sports"
Manuel Pellegrini needs to learn that complaining about another team’s tactics is counter-productive. All it does is prove to other teams that those tactics work against you and even worse, are getting under your skin. Chelsea came to the Etihad with a counter attacking lineup and they did just that.
They absorbed pressure, frustrated City, and scored on a picture perfect counter. If Pellegrini would rather complain about Mourinho’s tactics than adapt his own tactics then it is his problem and no one else’s. Mourinho and Chelsea have a proven track record playing the way they do and the moans of an opposing manager will not change that one bit.
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