Manuel Pellegrini, the manager of Manchester City, is not sure whether he would be able to play his full fledged starting XI in the first league match against Newcastle United on 17th of this month.
Quite a few regular City players including the captain Vincent Kompany have not joined the squad for the pre season. They are likely to be at Etihad next week which means that they won’t have even 15 days to get themselves in shape for the Newcastle game.
Before the start of the league though, the Sky Blues have to play Community Shield match against the Gunners on 10th and they are certain to go into that match with an inexperienced squad. The likes of Kompany and Aguero would not be there playing in that match.
City suffered a defeat against Liverpool yesterday in a match of the International Champions Cup. They played well actually and were levelled with the Reds when the final whistle was blown, but, they couldn’t get their penalty kicks right at the end and got defeated by 1-3 in the shootouts.
Talking to the reporters after that match, Pellegrini said, “I think we were more impressive than them in the first half and we should have taken the lead. But, unfortunately, we couldn’t. We kept it up after the break too, but, a few missed opportunities cost us.”
“The boys have had good practice in the last two and half weeks. We are expecting the full squad to be here with us by the start of next week. I don’t know if each one of them will be in a condition to play on 17th. Maybe, a few won’t be. Let’s see.”
The match between City and Newcastle will be played at the St. James’ Park.
Month: August 2014
Inzaghi Happy To Close Lopez Deal
Filippo Inzaghi, the manager of AC Milan, is happy to have been able to finalize Diego Lopez’s deal with Real Madrid. He reckons that the joining of the veteran shot stopper would be beneficial for the Rossoneri.
Lopez was the first choice goalie for Real Madrid in La Liga last season, but, with Keylor Navas coming in this summer, the Los Blancos decided to offload the Spaniard who has already crossed his thirty.
Talking about Lopez’s signing, Inzaghi said, “It’s a vital deal for us. Diego is a seasoned player who will add experience to our squad. Our young goalies are going to get guidance from him.”
As per the reports coming through, Lopez is reaching Italy this weekend. He is likely to go through the medical test on Monday and then, eventually he will ink the deal with Milan.
Inzaghi didn’t make any statement about Adel Taarabt though who is linked with a permanent move to San Siro this summer after being highly impressive during his loan stint the previous season.
When asked about the attacking playmaker that belongs to the Queens Park Rangers, Inzaghi said, “The final call has not been made. You guys will have to wait a little bit I guess.”
When asked if he thinks with so many changes being made, Milan would be a team to look out for in the Serie A, the 41-year old said, “I do think that the summer has gone well for us till now as far as buying the players is concerned, but, the main challenge will be on the pitch. Until, we go out there and play, we won’t know how strengthened we have got.”
The Rossoneri who saw one of their worst seasons in 2013-14 will start the league playing against Lazio.