Sunday saw Manuel Pellegrini’s Man City pick up their first silverware in the form of the Capital One Cup, with a confident 3-1 win in what was an empathic game of two halves against Premier League side Sunderland.
We all know that the Capital One Cup is no Champions League trophy. On the contrary, the League Cup doesn’t really have any significance outside of England, and as 2/11 favourites going into the final, winning was but a formality, an expectation, and for Pellegrini the start of the Manchester City’s charge for the quadruple of the 2013/14 season. For the fans, players and staff at the Etihad, the Capital One Cup victory is expected to bring with it a psychological willingness that will steer them to May in high spirit.
To understand the significance of Sunday’s victory at Wembley, we must understand the significance and effect on City had they lost to Sunderland. A loss would have brought about big questions regarding City’s ability to maintain momentum, their disregard of competitions of lesser significance and a lack of team spirit. Having said this, I would expect this win to have done the opposite to some degree.
Man City seemed to have finally applied the glue they had lacked in previous seasons through their exposure of certain weaknesses in teamwork and defence on the pitch. The investment in players such as Fernandinho, Jesus Navas, and Alvaro Negredo has paid dividends so far in terms of squad depth and results, and these additions have meant City’s first team rotation has proved to be the strongest in the Premiership.
Pellegrini stated after Man City lifted the trophy, ‘We are the only club with the chance to try to win all the competitions’, heralding a sort of psychological advantage over the rest of their premier league rivals in this season’s hotly contested League title.
By the end of the season, the winner of the Capital One trophy, whether big or small teams, are generally forgotten, but this victory is all about momentum. Having won the first available trophy in English football, Pellegrini has shown he developed a team of stars into a team of winners, capable of playing as a unit and coming back from a goal down – something that they had been found to lack under the management of Pellegrini’s predecessor, Mancini.
Sunderland utilised their chances and lower possession to full advantage and capitalised on their form before the half time whistle by an amazing solo effort from on-loan striker Fabio Borini. Pellegrini’s half time team-talk paid off when Yaya Toure equalised when he disposed of a 30-yard strike with pure finesse, vision and accuracy. It took less an minute for Samir Nasri to put his team in strong contention of lifting the trophy.
As Sunderland pushed forward and made tactical changes to their squad, Pellegrini countered his tactics to put the game to bed in the final minutes of the game, through a Navas strike to end Sunderland’s hopes of silverware in stoppage time. Man City’s first half display left a lot to be desired, but with the sort of performance they displayed in the second half of the game, Pellegrini’s men demonstrated the willingness to adapt to changes in games in order to get the desired results; a winning mentality.
Looking towards the end of their campaign, Man City would have set themselves a target of reclaiming the Premiership despite the opposition from Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Also, their fixture against Wigan in the FA Cup is a game that should see them advance into the semi-finals of the competition. However, victory from the Capital One Cup does not offer insurance.
If at the end of the season, their silverware remains the way we find it today, Pellegrini and his team will find themselves in the quagmire of a chasing multiple trophies and a very difficult position. This cup victory therefore requires them to maintain even more focus and achieve their objectives one step at a time… their challenge has just started.
All credit to Man City as they turn to altering the 2-0 deficit against the magic of Messi and Barcelona. An advancement to the quarter finals here would prove more of a victory to Man City than their Cup final win at Wembley.
Man City continue to look for ways to cement their European legacy. This is not to say they cannot. Chelsea’s legendary Champions League rivalry with Barcelona proved a great footballing show within the world of football and illustrated English greatness; whether Man City can emulate this at the Nou Camp, we will find out soon enough.
So there’s no time to bask in inconsequential glory for Pellegrini. Instead, its back to the drawing board and business as usual. All credit to Man City so far, they can at least enter their next Premier League fixtures as not only arguably the strongest side of the league, but the most confident. And I guess their £100,000 prize for their victory can buy the first round of celebratory drinks for the players (That’s about as far as that amount would stretch at the Etihad!).
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