Liverpool Loss Leaves Question Mark Over Manuel Pellegrini at Manchester City

This game represented a significant opportunity for Manchester City. With Chelsea, the league leaders for much of the season, not in Premier League action because of their League Cup-final involvement, City had the chance to close the gap to just two points with a win over Liverpool at Anfield. It would have been a huge moment psychologically.

And with the Merseysiders returning from a gruelling midweek trip to Turkey after their penalty-shootout defeat to Besiktas that saw them arrive back in England at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning, it felt like City would have never have a better chance to get their first win at Anfield since 2003.

Liverpool’s 2-1 win, which was thoroughly deserved both in terms of quality and desire shown, surely now ends any lingering title hopes City had. Manuel Pellegrini has overseen a weak defence of the trophy they worked so hard to secure in May, and given the two dreadful, early domestic-cup exits and the defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday, which leaves their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread, his future will now be debated intensely.

What will worry Pellegrini most is the lack of fight his side exhibited on such an important occasion. Liverpool outran and outfought City, particularly in the second half, which turned into a horror show for the away side and left them facing up to the prospect of a trophy-less season.

It’s hard to look at City’s season as anything other than regression. After their remarkable double-winning campaign of 2013-14, which saw them play some wonderful football, 2014-15 has been characterised by insipid displays, missed opportunities, some woeful defeats to lesser lights and confusion over the dogmatic nature of the manager’s tactical outlook.

City started this match with a 4-4-2 formation, despite the defeat to Barcelona on Tuesday that once again highlighted the dangers of playing such a system against quality sides. At times, City looked wide open, almost inviting Liverpool to attack them, and they paid a heavy price.

Liverpool’s first came after another moment of rash defending from Vincent Kompany, whose own form has become a sinister subplot to the story of City’s demise this season. His challenge on Philippe Coutinho near the halfway line was appalling, and once the Liverpool midfielder, who was the best player on the pitch, had skipped past him, there was real danger for City. The ball eventually fell to Jordan Henderson, whose wonderful curling shot left Joe Hart with no chance.

It felt like a repeat of last season’s game at Anfield, with City struggling to contain a fast start from their opponents. The naivety Pellegrini has shown has been staggering and is surely a large contributing factor in his side's poor form.

City did produce a moment of real quality, though, when a superb team goal brought them level. David Silva created a yard of space and found Sergio Aguero, whose run inside frightened Liverpool’s defenders, before a world-class reverse ball into Edin Dzeko, who made no mistake inside the box with a first-time finish.

It was Dzeko’s 50th league goal in a blue shirt, but it proved insignificant.

City’s second-half display was extremely sloppy and Liverpool took full advantage. Anyone would have thought it was City whose preparations for this game had been so inhibiting, such was the lack of intensity in their play.

Coutinho struck a deserved winner with 15 minutes remaining, leaving Pellegrini to ponder another failure to land a result against a top side away from home. 

Pellegrini: "Playing two up front at Anfield was the best decision. It was a close game and they won the game when we had one striker on."

— City Watch (@City_Watch) March 1, 2015 

Pellegrini: "I'm concerned that we are losing the ball too much - pressure is a factor. There is much we must analyse to improve."

— City Watch (@City_Watch) March 1, 2015

In the cutthroat world of professional football, where there is so little tolerance for regression at a club with the resources City have, Pellegrini must surely be worried about his future. Roberto Mancini was sacked for taking City backward after a title win while showing few signs of progress in European play, and any reasonable assessment could now easily say the same about his predecessor.

Pellegrini was the right man at the right time upon appointment—the perfect antidote to many of Mancini’s shortcomings that had left a stilted and divided group of players.

Two trophies in his debut season—the first time a manager has achieved that feat in the club’s history—were a glorious beginning, and he is a dignified, respectful man who has won friends since coming to the Premier League.

This season, though, looks like it's ending in failure. If it does and City can find themselves a suitable replacement, which is no easy task given the resume needed to provide an upgrade over the Chilean, it would hardly be a surprise if there were a new man in the dugout at the Etihad by the start of next season.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.