Manuel Pellegrini remained positive despite Manchester
City falling to their first domestic home defeat of the season against Chelsea.
City - who had won 19 of their previous 20 matches in all
competitions - started Monday's clash strongly, but Chelsea slowly worked their
way into the game and sealed a 1-0 win thanks a superb Branislav Ivanovic
strike just after the half-hour mark.
Jose Mourinho's side went on to hit the woodwork on three
occasions as City's goal lived a charmed life, while at the other end the hosts
struggled to test Chelsea keeper Petr Cech.
The result represents the first time since November 2010
that City have not scored at home in the Premier League, a run of 61 matches,
but Pellegrini is confident his side can recover - even though Chelsea are now
level with them in second place in the table.
"For Chelsea it was a decisive game, for us it was
an important one," the Chilean told Sky Sports. "We're still two
points behind Arsenal.
"It was a very tough game, they score a beautiful
goal but we had clear chances at least to draw.
"We couldn't do and they had two or three chances
against the post. It was a very close game, they played well.
"We are not going to have any problems (bouncing
back)."
City were dealt a blow before kick-off with an injury to
Fernandinho - and Pellegrini admitted their task was made harder without their
Brazilian midfielder and other high-profile absentees.
"Missing players (made it tough)," he added.
"To play without Sergio Aguero, Samir Nasri, Fernandinho and Javi Garcia
was difficult.
"Fernandinho was a big loss."
Culled from Soccerway
