(Manchester United News)
Manuel Pellegrini says Manchester City cannot settle for a stalemate against United on Sunday – and must repeat their recent derby successes to get their season back on track. “Never is a draw a good result,” says the Blues boss.
After another disappointing performance away to Crystal Palace on Monday night, the Chilean manager was keen to stress that spirits are still high in his City squad as his players prepare for a tough test at Old Trafford.
“We are not having the away results we want, 2015 isn’t a good year for us for this, but the motivation is to win, always," Pellegrini said. “I think that United have a lot of respect for our team as we dominated not only the derby in the last few years, but also the Premier League.
“It’s difficult to have a more intense match than you have in the Premier League every match, but it is more [intense] when it’s a derby in a city. It gives the game an extra boost. I hope not only the intensity is high, but the quality.”
Pellegrini also spoke of his admiration for his opposite number's philosophy. “Louis van Gaal’s teams are attacking teams who try to win titles. United bought a lot of very good players in the summer – Di Maria, Herrera, Falcao, Blind - and, in the season before, Mata.”
City captain Vincent Kompany feels the match has come at the right time for his side. “It’s a good moment to go into a derby,” he says. “My only concern is we get back to our best form. I’ve learnt from the past seasons that finishing strongly can have an impact on your next season.
“It’s the perfect place for us to go and try to rectify things. A derby is a derby. It doesn’t matter what place you are in the league.”
Sergio Aguero, meanwhile, has revealed that he loves to score at Old Trafford. "If you score against United at Old Trafford it almost gives you shivers, because you can feel the tense atmosphere with most of the stadium being really quiet, but the away end going crazy," he says.
The City striker also refused to write off a late surge for the title. "Of course we can still win it. In football, anything can happen. As soon as you think something is certain, everything changes. We have seen it so many times before and we'll see it again."
