, Manuel Pellegrini 19 September 2015.
If Wednesday's defeat to Juventus was about a lack of collective nerve to hold a lead, then this game was about players not respecting the need to start from the first whistle, and not rely on building a head of steam.
Both West Ham goals were preventable. The first, conceded on six minutes with Moses under no pressure as he tried his luck from 20 yards, was very poor defending. The second, Sakho scoring from a goalmouth scramble on thirty one minutes, again no defender picking up on the danger from the corner, as Tomkins, the West Ham centre half, won a free header.
This was the recipe by which the 2014/15 season's title defence unravelled. It is the opposite of the 11 match winning run, and the strongest ever City start to an EPL season. It needs to stop now, before it becomes the new norm.
There were a number of upsides. Opta stats show a game of domination in all but one very important statistic; 72% possession, 27 shots, 18 in the box (usually blocked by Reid), and 8 on target, 596 passes with 89% completed. In addition Saturday showed Kevin De Bruyne (who seemed to have initiated a comeback scoring clinically from the edge of the box just before half time) is not only a very technically gifted player, but has a third lung. Fernandinho continues to impress in midfield.
There were also some nagging doubts which need to be laid to rest. Aguero needs a goal. Switching the defence DOES cause us problems even when the individuals are £30+m players. No one unlocks defences like David Silva. Navas is in need of showing the City faithful he is worthy of the Managers constant trust.
So in conclusion very little new if this were 2014/15 and a little worrying as it is not. # CTID
@l0ngwayfr0mh0me
