Dropped Kompany not assured of start
Print Edition
MANUEL Pellegrini has warned his captain Vincent Kompany he is not assured of regaining his place in Manchester City’s starting line-up after he was left out of his side’s 2-0 victory over Leicester.
The Belgian World Cup central defender was the most high-profile victim of sweeping changes made by Pellegrini in the wake of successive and costly defeats to Barcelona and Liverpool. Kompany’s poor form cost him his place for a victory that City labored to record, through goals late in each half from David Silva and James Milner, and Pellegrini insisted that the defender is not assured of returning in City's next game, at Burnley, in 10 days.
“It was the same reason with Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany, Fernandinho, Samir Nasri, Edin Dzeko — it was important today to refresh the team, mentally and physically, after two difficult games when we didn’t have the results we wanted,” said Pellegrini. “It was a good moment to do that.
“It was not a difficult decision because we needed to refresh the team and I decided, thinking about a lot of things. We will see what happens in the next game. We have the weekend free but on Monday we will start thinking about the next game.
“Always when you don’t have the result you need, the next game is very difficult and that is why today the most important thing was to win the three points. After that we played a normal game, we dominated, had good possession of the ball and it was important for the team to keep a clean sheet and try to dominate the game from the beginning.”
Also, Chelsea eked out a 1-0 victory at West Ham to stay five points clear in the Premier League. Eden Hazard headed in a first-half goal for Chelsea at Upton Park before the leader rode its luck to stay on course for a second trophy this season to go alongside the League Cup it won on Sunday.
Seventh-place Tottenham beat Swansea 3-2 in a match that started in alarming circumstances when Swansea striker Bafetimbi Gomis collapsed in the circle in the seventh minute.
Manchester United left it late against Newcastle as Ashley Young capitalized on goalkeeper Tim Krul’s error. United stayed a point behind third-place Arsenal, which beat Queens Park Rangers 2-1 and Liverpool comfortably beat Burnley 2-0 with goals from Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge.
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