Pellegrini: Worst we have played here in a year

Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, accused his players of complacency after their surprising 2-1 home FA Cup quarter-final defeat by Wigan.

City’s dreams of an unprecedented four trophies — or at least a domestic treble — were buoyed by collecting the Capital One Cup last week. But against Championship Wigan, managed by legendary former City player Uwe Rosler, City found themselves 2-0 after an hour to goals from Jordi Gomez and James Perch before a Samir Nasri effort gave them hope.

“I think maybe it was the worst we have played here in a year,” said Pellegrini. “We didn’t have the pace to play against a team that is in a very good place. We knew before the match we were going to play against a difficult team and maybe we thought it was not so difficult and when we reacted it was too late. We finished one trophy and we won that. Now we have to continue playing in the Champions League and the Premier League, we have a lot of things to fight for between now and the end of the season.

“First we must try to win in Barcelona then we try to continue and reach the top of the (Premier League) table with the three games we have in hand.”

City visit Spain on Wednesday in the return leg of the Champions League last 16 although the 2-0 home deficit they carry with them makes advancement look a tall order, regardless of the poor showing against Wigan.

“It’s a game we are losing 2-0 so it’s difficult,” said the City manager. “We must react with the responsibility for what happened today but with a lot of trust about what we can do in the future. We will try and play a good game there and see what happens.”

Pellegrini denied he left first-choice regulars Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany and Aleksandar Kolarov on the bench against Wigan with one eye on the Barcelona game, although that was an obvious conclusion to reach.

“No, I didn’t leave them on the bench because we have to play Barcelona,” said Pellegrini. “They didn’t play today because we are always making rotation in the cup and Premier League and also because they played for 90 minutes for their national teams on Wednesday. It was important for them to rest.”