Simeone a target for faltering City
THE pressure on Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini has been ramped up by news that last season’s Premier League champions are eyeing Diego Simeone.
City are in danger of finishing this season empty-handed. They are already seven points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea after a 1-1 draw with Hull on Saturday and face a tough Champions League clash against Barcelona later this month.
Simeone, 44, has become one of the most sought-after managers in world football after leading Atletico Madrid to the Spanish title last season as well as the Champions League final, where they lost to rivals Real.
And the Argentine is the man City are most likely to turn to if the club feel Pellegrini, whose side bid to bounce back in the Premier League at Stoke tomorrow night, has to go at the end of the season.
MANCHESTER City are continuing to monitor Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone amid growing concern over their faltering season.
The Barclays Premier League champions slipped seven points behind leaders Chelsea after Saturday’s 1-1 home draw with struggling Hull City.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side are now in danger of finishing the season empty-handed after going out of both domestic cup competitions in the early rounds. Much will depend on how they fare in the Champions League having scraped through to the knockout stage.
On February 24 City face Barcelona for the second season in a row and another defeat for Pellegrini would raise serious questions over the Chilean’s future.
Simeone led Atletico to the Spanish title last season as well as the Champions League final, where they lost to rivals Real. His stock rose even higher after Atletico inflicted a 4-0 defeat on Carlo Ancelotti’s European champions in Saturday’s Madrid derby.
The 44-year-old Argentine is the likely target if City feel Pellegrini should go. Both Ancelotti and Bayern Munich’s Pep Guardiola are less likely to leave their clubs while Borussia Dortmund’s Jurgen Klopp is having a poor season.
City’s immediate task is to improve their results, starting at Stoke tomorrow. Pablo Zabaleta, the champions’ Argentina full back, admits his side must win at the Britannia Stadium or risk losing touch with Chelsea.
‘We are under pressure. We have to win every game,’ said Zabaleta. ‘Chelsea won and Southampton won, United are close behind us, while Spurs are in a great moment.
‘Every game is like a final, and we have Champions League coming up in the next few weeks. If we want to be trying to retain the title, we need to win the games.’ Pellegrini’s team will not find it easy — Stoke won at the Etihad in August — and Zabaleta admitted: ‘They play in a physical way, and are very strong at home.
‘They have changed their style of play with Mark Hughes, but still have most of the players from a few years ago, and are a really good team. We have to be ready.’
Zabaleta admitted that playing away from the Etihad could help City rediscover their form. ‘It’s been very strange because this team have not been great at home, and that is something that has not happened before,’ he said.
‘We have always been strong at home, and this season if you look at the points we have lost at home, it is really hard to understand.’
Much could depend on whether Sergio Aguero rediscovers his scoring spark and Zabaleta said: ‘We need Sergio to come back to his goalscoring best like in November-December.
‘But after being injured for a long time for some players it is difficult to come back to their best. I am sure as soon as Sergio scores one goal then he will again be one of the best strikers in the league.
‘Also, defensively we are not doing great. We are conceding goals every game. Clean sheets are always important. There are defensive and offensive things we need to improve if we are to win something this season.’