Pablo: Title know-how will edge it
PABLO ZABALETA believes the experience of coming from behind to claim two title wins can tip the race for the Premier League crown in Manchester City’s favour.
The West Ham full-back was an integral part of the City sides which won in the dying seconds of the 2011-2012 season and repeated the feat two years later as Liverpool faltered late on.
Zabaleta makes no claim to impartiality and is still unable to stop himself from referring to his former club as “we”.
And he believes the experience of those two campaigns means Pep Guardiola’s men can take advantage if nerves get the better of Liverpool.
Just one point separates the top two with 10 games left.
And Zabaleta said: “It’s important to have won the Premier League previously because we’ve been in this situation before.
“Not the third one last season, but the first two when we were behind. That’s going to be key. Both times we won the league after we were behind the leaders at this point.
“Some players in the dressing room now have experience of that. It’ll help for the rest of the players. They can talk to them, keep everyone focused and tell them their experiences from before.”
Vincent Kompany, Sergio Aguero and David Silva featured in all three of the title triumphs and Fernandinho got a winner’s medal in 2014.
That time Liverpool led with three matches to go but they dropped five points in their final three games, as City mounted a late sprint to pip them on the line, beating West Ham on the final day.
Zabaleta claims it is not just tension in the dressing room which will have a bearing on the destination of this year’s title but also anxiety in the stands.
And in that respect he believes City have another advantage over Liverpool. “Everybody around Liverpool and the fans are just waiting for that Premier League medal and when the team is not playing well it seems the fans are a little bit tense,” he said.
“That can sometimes be difficult for the players to concentrate and play well.
“For Liverpool fans, they’ve never won the Premier League. It’s been 29 years since their last title.
“They were very close in 2013-14 when we won the league. That’s why for them as it goes on it gets more exciting.”
City kept their own fans on the edges of their seats against
West Ham on Wednesday night, relying on a dubious second-half penalty converted by Aguero to keep the pressure on Jurgen Klopp’s men. It was not convincing. But Zabaleta said City did well to beat his Hammers three days after winning the Carabao Cup final on penalties against Chelsea. He said: “You can’t always expect City to win by four or five. “They’ve been playing so many games and it’s very tough. Winning is good enough. Sometimes people expect too much.”
CITY’S parent company yesterday announced a new 10-year kit deal with Puma worth £650m, to also cover men’s, women’s and youth teams at Melbourne City, Girona, Club Atletico Torque and the newlyacquired Chinese outfit Sichuan Jiuniu.