The Man City boss believes his strikers will return to
form soon and is unconcerned about the mid-season lull that they are currently
enduring
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini backed Edin
Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo despite admitting they had a "bad day" in
their 1-0 win over Stoke City on Saturday.
Yaya Toure struck the only goal of the game while
forwards Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko incurred the wrath of the home
supporters with lacklustre displays in front of goal.
Dzeko was arguably the least impressive of the pair as he
failed to convert a Jesus Navas cross from two yards in the second period, but
Pellegrini professed no surprise in seeing his strikers go through lean spells.
"I think it is normal during the season for a
striker to lose his scoring touch," he told reporters after the game.
"I trust in all of them and I am sure they will
recover their normal performance.
"I think that every player can have a bad day, and
Edin did today. Maybe he was nervous after he missed that chance but I trust in
him. Alvaro Negredo is also recovering from an injury, so sometimes these
things happen."
Pellegrini's attacking options could be handed a boost
ahead of Sunday's Capital One Cup final as he revealed Sergio Aguero will
return to full training on Tuesday, though Steven Jovetic could miss out after
pulling up just 15 minutes after appearing as a substitute.
"Sergio will start working with the whole squad on
Tuesday" he added. "We will see during the week if he is fit and
ready for the match on Sunday."
"Jovetic felt cramp in his hamstring and we will now
see what the doctor says."
Despite not being at their best, Pellegrini was pleased
that his side were able to get over the line against the Potters in what is the
Blues' last league match for three weeks.
"I think that we didn't create many chances as Stoke
defended very well. They had their whole team behind the ball and in the box,
but we had the patience to finally score.
"Also we had the concentration, especially from
set-pieces and at the second ball, to keep our clean sheet.
"The satisfaction is the same [as winning by many
goals] because we have another three points. It is important to know how to win
in both ways."
Culled from Goal
0 comments:
Post a Comment