Manuel Pellegrini 'afraid' of Man City

Manuel Pellergrini was little angry on his teams 0-2 fail over Watford. He says that he would have taken off all his players at the half time.

So that's another box ticked for Manuel Pellegrini.

Mauel Pellegrini © thesun.co.uk

Staring down the barrel, 2-0 down at home to Watford in their FA Cup tie , Manchester City’s Chilean manager was able to inspire them into finding another gear in the second half.

More to the point, however, the City stars showed that they aren’t just big-game players. They showed a hunger and a desire that enabled them to cash in as Watford tired after 60 minutes.

We have to admit, we thought City would win even at half-time. They have just got so many options and so much in the tank.

As good as Watford were - and they were great for an hour it has to be said - they were always going to succumb to fatigue and lose concentration against a side with superior firepower.

The truth right now is that City are unstoppable. Near-invincible at home. That fifth round tie against Chelsea is going to be a footballing blockbuster with so many fantastic attacking talents going at it head-to-head.

But City just have an unshakeable belief that they can win any game. They are feeling right now that whatever the situation they can overcome it.

They are now the team we all expected to be when Pellegrini re-shaped that galaxy of stars at the start of the season.

It has been an extraordinarily steep learning curve for him, combined with the fact that perhaps the players were turning up at away games and expecting to win, which accounts for that patchy form on the road at the start.

It all changed after their win at Newcastle though. That win for me was when we finally saw proof that the penny had dropped.

Alan Pardew’s men had a legitimate goal disallowed which actually let City off the hook. But they accepted the lifeline and players like Edin Dzeko were putting in a real shift.

Now it’s the norm. They are reaching the standard that Pellegrini has set for them.

He is not a shouter, a ranter or a raver. From what we hear behind the scenes he exudes a serenity that has made the club a much happier place for everyone to be.

Roberto Mancini was the opposite from what we understand. Apparently he’d walk past you and not even speak to you. Now it’s a family. A collective and that’s showing on the pitch. There is a unity and a cohesion about them.

Chelsea will test that, obviously. As will Barcelona in the Champions League. But this is a team that can beat both. They can certainly beat Barca over the two legs of their knockout tie.

Pellegrini has turned them into that kind of team. Afraid of nobody. Ready to take on anybody. And when the chips are down as they were on Saturday, he knows the right words to get them producing even more.

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