Big-spending Manchester City suffered a terrible blow to their Premier League title ambitions on Tuesday night as Everton defeated them 1-0 at Goodison Park.
The defeat combined with Manchester United winning 2-0 against Stoke left the two clubs level on points in the Premier League table.
Frustrated
Everton are a team that is always likely to frustrate opposition teams at home. Season after season the Toffee’s have achieved unexpected results against teams that are looked upon as superior.
Manchester City was considered big favourites when they visited Goodison but came away empty handed.
Opposition teams now know City’s strengths and will set out to frustrate the Premier League leaders. As high-fliers the Citizens are now up there to be shot at as it were and they must find a way past teams like Everton.
Runaway
For the majority of the season Manchester City have been runaway leaders at the top of the Barclays Premier League. However they are now only leading the league on goal-difference from arch-rivals Manchester United.
It’s now that the pressure will start to kick-in. On Tuesday night at times it looked like the City players were nervous and maybe they are starting to feel that pressure.
Recovery
The key to being champions is how you bounce back from defeats. If you are strong physically and mentally and follow up a defeat with a win then you have the potential to be champions. It’s important for City to follow this defeat up with a victory over Fulham this weekend.
Psychological
The defeat against Everton could prove a big psychological blow to Manchester City’s players. Manchester City as a club is not accustomed to competing for the big titles and a lot of their players haven’t got that experience either.
They lack the experience of having the pressure of competing at the very top level of the game. The next few months will tell us if those players have the mental strength to play for a club like Manchester City.
Rivals
Unfortunately for City their rivals Manchester United do have the experience of competing for the top prizes in football. The Red Devils have been there and bought the t-shirt when it comes to challenging for the Premier League title.
The United players have a certain mental strength that City need to develop. The Champions have only developed this strength through experience of winning trophies. Manchester City have yet to develop this winning mental strength because they are not accustomed to winning trophies.
Over the next couple of years the Citizens are likely to win more trophies and with it develop a winning mentality.
Difficult
If Manchester City are to claim the Premier League trophy at the end of the season then they must start to win the difficult games. I’m not talking about games against the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea or United. I’m talking about games against the likes of Everton and Stoke were they will have to fight for every ball.
City boss Roberto Mancini admitted after the defeat at Goodison that they underestimated Everton. You don’t win trophies by underestimating teams, especially the likes of Everton at Goodison.
Former-United defender Gary Neville even stated that Goodison is one of the most difficult grounds to play at as an opposition player. The Manchester City players took a victory for granted and paid for it. The title isn’t going to come easy and teams won’t just roll over and let City beat them.
I think the Manchester City players will have learnt a valuable lesson from the defeat at Everton. It could be a defining moment in the season. They now know they can’t afford to be complacent against any team in the Premier League or they will come unstuck.
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