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Manchester City
At the Etihad the defending champions of last season have seen their title slip away to their London rivals Chelsea. In a season which saw inconsistent performances and slipping of form the citizens have paid for not integrating into their squad the wealth of talent which they possess and using them effectively.
Despite all their troubles City have scored the most goals this season (81) Sergio Aguero won the Golden Boot, so this begs the question if they scored the most goals why couldn’t they walk away with the title: the reason is failing to win in crucial games.
Of their losses, Stoke and West Ham apart City couldn’t win against teams at the top of the table and those at the bottom. Their loss card reads Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United, Burnley and Crystal Palace. City have failed to use their squad effectively which also suggests that perhaps their squad is too big and finding motivation for the players may seem much more difficult.
Not the most renowned tactician, Pellegrini has found it difficult to win against the bigger teams and the more organized smaller teams. With their summer acquisitions of Fernando and Mangala, City disrupted an organized defence and a well running midfield.
Areas of improvement
Defence- City need to find an able partner for Vincent Kompany. Their defence has leaked in 38 goals this season and for all their endeavour at the other end they’ve regressed from previous seasons at the back.
The addition of the unconvincing Elaquim Mangala who hasn’t proved to be the most reliable centre back has forced Demichelis to continue as Kompany’s defensive partner despite his age. But if City want to get back to winning ways it has to start by building from the back.
Recommendations- Mats Hummels, Simon Kjaer, Phil Jagielka, Ashley Williams, Andrea Ranocchia, Giorgio Chiellini
Midfield- City have amassed so many defensive midfielders that it is difficult to tell apart the Fernandos from the Fernandinhos. But all jokes aside, City need more creativity from the centre of the pitch. Yaya Toure is on the decline after a sub-par season and needs to be replaced, Frank Lampard was signed last minute but after a few cameos looks to be leaving as well.
City need to go out and buy whether young or experienced a quality central midfielder to unlock the stubborn defences and to help out and ease the pressure off David Silva. Another option could be to buy a winger or inside forward but with Nasri, Milner(who is yet to extend his contract) and Navas already in the lineup an addition could stir things up.
Recommendations - Marco Verratti, Candreva, Javier Pastore, Antoine Griezmann, Christian Eriksen
Liverpool
It has been a torrid time as Liverpool manager for Brendan Rodgers with all of his summer acquisitions misfiring. Liverpool have been nothing short of calamitous defensively, conceding 42 goals and have been laclusture up front scoring only 51, that’s 30 goals short of Manchester City’s tally.
After spending 117m in the summer and adding the likes of Lambert, Lovren, Lallana, Markovic, Emre Can, Moreno and of course Balotelli the Reds have managed to only fight for 4th place and lose out in the end to United by 7 points.
Lovren has been shambolic at the back, Lallana and Lambert have been mediocre and Balotelli has probably been the worst striker in the league. It is a very grim and sad state of affairs for a club that was gunning for the title last season.
The injury to frontman Daniel Sturridge and the lack of a goal scorer have cost the Merseysiders dearly. To add to that the form of Raheem Sterling has taken a slight dip from the previous campaign. Agreed they’ve been unlucky with injuries but Liverpool need to evaluate how they’ve played this season and look to strengthen.
Areas of improvement
Defence - Failiure to replace the departing Daniel Agger with an adept replacement. Dejan Lovren has been unconvincing and has failed to step up his game to the big time following his summer transfer. Sakho’s injury has caused Liverpool to struggle to cope defensively and have resulted in a lack of organization at the back.
They need a defender of quality or Lovren needs to step his game up. Moreno has been impressive though.
Recommendations- Nicolas Otamendi,Simon Kjaer, Rafael Varane, Thiago Silva, Phil Jagielka, Ashley Williams
Midfield - Its the last we’ll see of Steven Gerrard in a Liverpool shirt and the Captain is somebody who is irreplaceable , but somebody has to fill in the legend’s shoes. Jordan Henderson will have to step his game up to new levels from now on. Enough said about that. A winger could also be in the reckoning with more assists needed.
Recommendations- Marco Verrati, Miralem Pjanic, Candreva, Christian Eriksen, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ilkay Gundogan, Antoine Griezmann, Dusan Tadic
Striker- Balotelli out. A fresh face in. 4 goals in 28 games is nothing short of pathetic even Fernando Torres scored more for Chelsea. Liverpool haven’t replaced Luis Suarez effectively and are still reeling with the lack of quality up front. Somebody needs to score goals for Liverpool and Rodger’s teamsheet is crying out for a top top striker. A certain most definite area of strenghtening.
Recommendation- Edinson Cavani, Mauro Icardi, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, Bas Dost, Harry Kane, Paulo Dybala, Alexandre Lacazette, Alberto Bueno... anybody for that matter.
