Opinion Man Citys contrasting form
It is a surprise that City is in third when many predicted it would be running away with the title.
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Having ransacked THE Arsenal 6-3 on Saturday,Manchester City have ominously crept to within three points of the league leaders. Surprising statistics pepper Citys season though. Citys home and away form is starkly different their home record reads a perfect eight wins,with 35 goals scored and just five conceded. They have lost four of their opening six away matches though,with two wins and two draws rounding off their travel travails. Additionally,they have scored 12 and conceded 13,which points to some serious acclimatising problems when away from home.
It is a surprise that the side arguably the strongest in the division is in third spot when many predicted it would be running away with the title. With Silva,Nasri,Aguero,Negredo,Kompany and Toure,among others,in their ranks,City have thrashed contenders Manchester United,Tottenham,Arsenal and Everton by a combined goal difference of 14 at home. For a squad littered with such talent,their away form is puzzling at best and unacceptable at worst.
This then,presents the final frontier for Manuel Pellegrini who has got City purring like a thoroughbred on their home patch but who seem to choke on a hairball when faced with an alien atmosphere. The concept of acclimatisation has gone for a toss in modern football. Teams that arrive at the stadium an hour before kickoff with players clued into their earphones a generalisation no doubt do not have the leisure of reaching away grounds early and getting used to them,especially when three matches a week seem the norm at times.
What Citys players seem to lack on away matchdays is focus. They seem preoccupied with matters away from the pitch,seriously affecting their ambitions on it. Five months in,it is time for the coach and his team to clear their heads and let their away performances talk for them as emphatically as their home ones.
The task for City is simple. Fortress Etihad has already been established. If they tune their away raids right,the title is theirs for the taking.
(Hormazd is a senior sub-editor based in New Delhi)
hormazd@expressindia.com
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