BIRMINGHAM / LONDON: Manchester City will attempt to exploit the internal turmoil at Chelsea and land an early blow in this season’s Premier League title race when the sides face off on Sunday.
Chelsea’s week has been dominated by the fall-out from manager Jose Mourinho’s criticism of first-team doctor Eva Carneiro and physiotherapist Jon Fearn for running onto the pitch to treat Eden Hazard when the team were down to 10 men in last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Swansea City.
Widely criticised over the incident, Mourinho confirmed on Friday that the pair have been demoted — temporarily, according to him — and will not be on the bench at the Etihad Stadium.
The Swansea game already represented an underwhelming start to Chelsea’s title defence after five games without victory in pre-season, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois’s dismissal ruling him out of Sunday’s contest.
City, in contrast, opened with an impressive 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion that sent Manuel Pellegrini’s side to the top of the standings after the first round of fixtures.
Raheem Sterling is settling in after his £49 million switch from Liverpool, Sergio Aguero is nearing full fitness following his post-Copa America break and Yaya Toure suggested he was ready to put last season’s troubles behind him with a goal and an assist at The Hawthorns.
Victory would put City five points above Chelsea and although it is early days, Pellegrini knows that Sunday’s encounter represents an opportunity to disrupt the stride of a title rival.
“We are not thinking about the title in the second game, but we are thinking about trying to win our points at home, especially as we are playing against the champions and one of the teams that has a lot of chances to win the title,” said Pellegrini.
Victorious van Gaal wants more from United
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal upbraided his attacking players for their sloppiness after they beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park to record back-to-back Premier League victories.
Adnan Januzaj marked his return to the starting eleven with a 29th-minute winner on Friday as United moved to the top of the table, but van Gaal was dismayed by the ease with which his team conceded possession.
Having mustered only one shot on target in their 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend, United found the target just twice against Villa, but it was wayward passes, rather than shots, that concerned van Gaal.
“When you score more than your opponent, it’s enough,” said the Dutchman. “But I think you are right, because we had too many unnecessary ball losses. That was not only Adnan Januzaj, but also Memphis Depay and Wayne Rooney. So a lot of players. I can say more. We have to improve that.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2015.
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