Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini reckons Jose Mourinho will pull through Chelsea crisis

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini believes Jose Mourinho will pull out of Chelsea crisis

JOSE MOURINHO has found an unlikely ally in old foe Manuel Pellegrini.

 

Pellegrini and Mourinho have made no secret of their mutual dislike as well as their contrasting football philosophies over the years.

But Manchester City manager Pellegrini believes under-fire Mourinho will pull Chelsea out of crisis and refuses to rule the London club out of the Premier League title race despite their nightmare start.

"All managers have a bad moment in their career or in a season," said Pellegrini, who came under intense scrutiny himself following City's title fade-out last season.

 

"It's normal. So I think, because he's a very important manager, that he will arrange his team.

"He's already demonstrated what he can do. He was the champion of the Premier League last season.

"The mathematics always say whether you can still win the title or not. There are still enough points to play for. I am sure Chelsea will be involved in the fight for the title and they will continue to be a very strong team. They are not in their best moment but I am sure they will improve."

City found it hard to defend the title after winning it in 2012 and 2014 and Pellegrini says one of the factors can be the mindset of the players.

"Maybe some relax," he said. "You don't want it to happen but it normally does. It's difficult to repeat it. All the other teams who couldn't win it last season become stronger because they don't want to go two years without winning silverware.

 

"But the most important thing is that you have five very strong teams here in England and they can all win the title."

City have scored 16 goals in their last three home games in domestic competitions but Norwich manager Alex Neil insists his struggling team must try to cause them problems at the Etihad today rather than just set out on a damage limitation exercise.

The Canaries have slumped to three successive defeats in the league, they were knocked out of the Capital One Cup on penalties at Everton in midweek and crashed 7-0 the last time they visited City two years ago.

Neil said: "It will not be easy, they can spend £50million on one player, but it is what it is. We will have to go there and do the best we can.

"Our approach will have to be slightly different than recently, as we are probably going to have to err on the side of caution, but also with an eye on causing them as many problems as we can going forwards."