Manchester City can take great heart from the way Chelsea were dumped out of the Champions League this week.
For Paris St Germain exposed the fact that one of Jose Mourinho’s greatest strengths could prove to be his greatest weakness in the Premier League title run-in.
Many Blues were hoping the Londoners would get through, adding games to their already busy schedule and providing a distraction from the domestic competition, where Manuel Pellegrini’s men lie five points adrift.
But Mourinho’s natural caution was exposed as a flaw against the French aces, who showed that they are far from the invincible outfit that was being described earlier in the campaign.
And in the feisty world of the Premier League, with just about every club fighting for something, that gives fresh hope to City, who can cut the gap at the top to two points if they win at Burnley on Saturday night.
With Chelsea playing host to Southampton on Sunday afternoon, a City victory is vital to keep pressure on the leaders.
But the Blues learned just how tough a prospect the Clarets can be when they fought back from two goals down at the Etihad Stadium in December to grab a draw.
City know their last ten games will be battles – but the fact that Chelsea face the same problem, and have a tendency to withdraw into their shell and protect what they have, is encouraging.
The shortcomings of the Premier League have been exposed in this year’s Champions League, but the fact remains that it is the most competitive league on the planet in terms of the ability of relegation clubs to upset those at the top.
That usually comes as a shock to foreign stars coming into the league, and City keeper Joe Hart says the English players, steeped in the ferocity of our game, and those foreign players who have been here for some time, try to impress upon newcomers that they never get easy games.
“We try to give as much info as we can to the boys,” said Hart.
“They know what the Premier League is, and how difficult it is to play in, but it helps to give them information.
“For instance, when David Nugent and Jamie Vardy came on as subs for Leicester last week, I made sure I told Eliaquim Mangala that they would not give him a second’s rest.
“Little bits of info like that help – they all know how Chelsea or Arsenal will play, but it’s important in this league to know that you might not know their names, but they are still quality players.”
For that reason, City will aim to give Danny Ings – a player they have had carefully watched – as much respect as they hand to Lionel Messi next week.
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Of course, City were in a comparable position three years ago, when they found themselves eight points behind United on Easter Sunday – and won their last six games to overhaul the Reds.
Hart acknowledges the similarity, but says today’s City are of a different mind-set.
He recalls the feeling in the dressing room after a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal had seemingly killed the dream.
“We just knew at that moment we had to win every single game,” he said. “That was the thought process, and relying on other results.
“The feeling was that if we won every remaining game and didn’t win the league, it was our own fault.
“It was a case of going into every game with that feeling we had to win it – we also knew we had United coming to our place in the third to last game and we knew that game could be pivotal.
“We had to go into it with a fighting chance, and that’s what we did.”
Manager Manuel Pellegrini is expected to recall Vincent Kompany to the team, and both Samir Nasri and Fernandinho are expected to return to the squad after being dropped for last week’s win over Leicester.
