Tendai Makaripe
Manchester City Manager Manuel Pellegrini was left a furious man after his charges fell like a deck of cards in their high profile clash against Chelsea on Sunday and refused to shake the hand of opposition Manager Jose Mourinho.
Pellegrini was not only displeased by Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic’s mix up that resulted in Chelsea scoring right on the stroke of full time but by the way Chelsea manager Mourinho celebrated the goal.
Mourinho’s decision to cut across the visitors’ dug-out as he celebrated Torres’s winner seriously disturbed Pellegrini.
The Portuguese born manager later explained that he was making a beeline for his 14-year-old son, Jose Jr, who sat behind the City bench.
He was at pains to try and mend the souring relationship between Pellegrini and himself by insisting he meant no disrespect towards the City boss in his celebration.
‘I wanted to buy a season ticket for my son, and they give him a season ticket behind the away dug-out,’ said the former Real Madrid boss.
Despite the explanation, Pellegrini still struggled to contain the anger that had found a home within him.
‘I don’t want to speak about him. I didn’t expect anything else. It is a different way to celebrate from me.’
Asked why he didn’t shake the Portuguese’s hand after the final whistle, he replied: ‘I didn’t shake hands because I didn’t want to.’
Pellegrini was a visibly furious man as seen by the way he addressed the media after the game.
He failed to publicly back his embattled goalkeeper following the mix-up with Nastasic that led to Chelsea’s 90th-minute strike.
Fernando Torres grabbed a dramatic last-minute winner for Chelsea as Joe Hart’s season of woe continued at Stamford Bridge.
The blunder puts Hart firmly back under the microscope after a series of countless mistakes that have overshadowed his campaign.
His manager did not openly guarantee that Hart will be between the sticks in City’s next game.
‘From tomorrow, we are going to see the best way to arrange things.
‘What do I think about the goal? I won’t talk about it. What do I think about my goalkeeper’s performance? I repeat, the analysis I do with individual players I do with the players.
‘How is the confidence? You must ask him how his confidence is, I talk just internally with the players. We are losing stupid points. In our three away defeats, we’ve had the important responsibility for the goals the other team scored.’
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