(Manuel Pellegrini watches on as his side crumble against Liverpool - image via Michael Regan/Getty Images)
“I am more than angry, it is difficult to understand why we played so poorly,” the City manager said. “In defence, in attack and in possession I have never seen my team play in the way they played tonight. It was not one name or another name who was to blame it was the whole team. I was not happy with the performance of all 11 players. It was a complete disaster.”
Those words will perhaps help to soothe the burns a little. An acknowledgement of this kind usually provokes a change, and after putting on a display comparable to the horror that unfolded seven years ago when Middlesbrough scored eight at the Riverside Stadium, that's exactly what Manchester City need.
The Chilean's failure to recognise the crucial selection errors he made only applies salt to the wounds inflicted by his side's second 4-1 defeat of the season. This was comfortably City's worst performance under Pellegrini - a day on which none of his players turned up - but tactical mistakes made the job even easier for Jürgen Klopp's side.
In the red corner, the exact same team, bar Dejan Lovren who filled in for the injured Mamadou Sakho, that ripped Chelsea apart at Stamford Bridge three weeks ago. In the blue corner, a team missing Fernandinho and Nicolás Otamendi, two of City's best performers, and including Yaya Touré in a two-man midfield. While Klopp went with tried and tested, Pellegrini bafflingly went with a system that has failed on multiple occasions.
(Nicolás Otamendi, City's best performer this month, was left on the sidelines - image via Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
The 62-year-old's decision to go with Martin Demichelis ahead of Otamendi alongside Eliaquim Mangala was his first mistake. Before this game, the Argentine had started just one league fixture and that was in the 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. Bereft of game time and quite clearly no longer able to cope with a demanding 90 minutes of Premier League football, the 34-year-old was tormented by Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino. The fact that Otamendi has been City's best player this month made the decision even more perplexing, especially with Vincent Kompany out injured.
Mistake number two saw Fernandinho drop to the bench. The Brazilian has won more tackles and has completed more passes than any other City player this season, and given Liverpool's recently established ability to hassle and pressurise their opponents under Klopp's famous gegenpressing philosophy, his absence on Saturday was quite astonishing.
Even more extraordinary was the sight of Yaya Touré in a two-man midfield - a sight that has gone hand in hand with defeat against quality opposition during Pellegrini's tenure at the Etihad Stadium. Much has been made of Touré's lack of defensive work - in fact, it's become a weekly talking point - so why does Pellegrini persist with a system that doesn't work? The introduction of both Fernandinho and Fabian Delph at half time indicates that he knows the system has its flaws, but the temptation of playing five attacking attacking players on home turf is still getting the better of the Chilean.
(Yaya Touré was substituted off at half time after an ineffective first half display - image via Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Pellegrini dodged questions about team selection because he was embarrassed. He got it completely wrong, and his substitutions at half time showed that. With qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League already secured, surely Pellegrini wouldn't be ignorant enough to underestimate Liverpool and save the services of two of his best players for a chance to top Group D with a win against Juventus on Wednesday?
Unfortunately, that seems to be the case. The club's hierarchy will not tolerate another Champions League upset and winning the group should set City up for a more manageable last 16 draw. Whether the fans or Pellegrini like it or not, City's league form could be comprimised as a result.
