Vincent Kompany: City can’t afford any slip-ups

Vincent Kompany accepts Manchester City now have no margin for error in the title race.

Fri, 04 Mar, 2016 - 00:00

Andy Hampson

City slipped up again at Liverpool on Wednesday – losing a third successive Barclays Premier League game for the first time since 2008 – to remain 10 points behind leaders Leicester.

Yet with rivals Tottenham and Arsenal also losing on the same night, fourth-placed City did not lose much ground on the sides above them in the latest round of fixtures.

They also have a game in hand – having 11 to play compared to the 10 of each the top three – and captain Kompany feels all is still to play for. The Belgium defender said: “We can’t make any more mistakes but I didn’t expect all the other teams to lose.

“It is an awkward season – good for the fans but you can’t predict anything can you? If there is one guarantee for this season it is nothing is sure.”

City had the tables turned on them by Liverpool at Anfield three days after beating the Merseysiders in a dramatic Capital One Cup final penalty shoot-out.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini blamed fatigue for the 3-0 defeat, recalling also his squad produced a stirring performance away at Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League a week ago. City never got going and were beaten by first-half goals from Adam Lallana and James Milner with Roberto Firmino adding another after the break.

City now need to get a positive result against Aston Villa at home tomorrow and, with Tottenham facing Arsenal, it could be another intriguing weekend in an unpredictable competition.

Kompany said: “If you look at this result it could have been worse, although we are not happy with the result or the performance. But, at the same time, it is a tough place for us to come. We are not going to draw too many conclusions from this game.

“We will see what is happening at the weekend; Arsenal and Spurs are playing against each other, we are at home to Aston Villa. We need to get the three points and maybe Leicester will drop some points.”

Meanwhile Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson believes consistency has been the Reds’ “biggest downfall” and has urged the squad to deliver on a regular basis.

Wednesday night’s 3-0 win over Manchester City - very similar in style to the 4-1 demolition at the Etihad Stadium in the first Barclays Premier League meeting of the season - exemplified what can be achieved.

But more often than not such displays have been followed by frustratingly inexplicable defeats to the likes of Crystal Palace, coincidentally Sunday’s opponents, or Newcastle.

Jurgen Klopp has been promised the biggest transfer budget of any Liverpool manager this summer to overhaul an under-performing team, but Henderson reckons ironing out inconsistencies could be the key to unlocking their potential.

“I think consistency has been our biggest downfall,” the 25-year-old said.

“Some games have been very good and we look as though we can beat anyone and other days we’ve been poor and haven’t really turned up. Consistency is an area where we need to be better.”