Manchester City Need Drastic Improvement Ahead of Key Match with Chelsea

Manchester City’s bid to win their third title in four seasons—a triumph which would confirm their dominance of English football—took a severe dent on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat at home to Arsenal.

The most worrying aspect for Manuel Pellegrini was the manner of the defeat. Comprehensively outplayed despite dominating possession, it was concerning just how much damage Arsenal inflicted in short bursts.

With the possible exception of Gael Clichy, every player in blue underwhelmed, and it leaves Pellegrini with much to ponder ahead of his side’s January 31 trip to Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea in what has become a match of critical importance.

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Having wiped out the eight-point lead Chelsea had established in early November, City are now five points behind Jose Mourinho’s side. A defeat at the end of the month would see the west Londoners reassert their eight-point gap. Surely Mourinho, a manager known for his ability to sustain a lead, would not allow it to dissipate for a second time.

With their home form, which for so long has been the bedrock of their success, looking uncertain, it leaves Pellegrini’s side with much to do away from the Etihad. The 10 points they’ve dropped at home so far this season is in stark contrast to the two lost in their 2011/12 title-winning season and the five they lost over the course of the last campaign.

The margin for error is now incredibly slim for the remainder of the campaign.

But where did it all go wrong against Arsenal?

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Some may feel Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero were rushed back from their recent injury layoffs, but with both being on the bench at Everton eight days earlier, and therefore having another full week of training going into this one, that is a rather weak excuse.

The truth is, Aguero was dominated by Laurent Koscielny, who put in a superb display epitomised by the slight touch he managed to apply to Jesus Navas’ second-half cross, diverting the ball away from the Argentinian who was waiting in the box and set to finish from close range.

And Kompany’s return was nothing short of a disaster. A harsh penalty decision it may have been when he was adjudged to have taken out Nacho Monreal, but his movement towards the Arsenal left-back was unnecessary, and he could easily have had a red card in among some reckless defending in the second half.

He is too often sucked out of position, leaving space in behind, and the balance he struck in 2011/12 of proactive defending and sensible positional play now appears somewhat lost. He’s still a fantastic defender, but his errors in recent months have proved costly indeed.

And he was far from alone on Sunday. Navas’ crossing was disastrous—18 failed attempts to find a blue shirt in the area from wide—and Stevan Jovetic’s cameo was another baffling display of senseless runs and too many touches on the ball.

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Fernando has technical limitations which stymie City’s midfield play, and James Milner, so often a safe pair of hands this season, was not at the races. Yaya Toure was clearly missed, as he would be by any side in world football, but given City's ambitions, they must surely be able to cope without him better than this.

But all is not lost. Five points is hardly irretrievable, especially given City have an opportunity to beat Chelsea in their next league match, but improving on Sunday’s display, which was a shambles from beginning to end, is a must.

City have shown enough during their recent 14-game unbeaten run that they possess both quality and stoicism. They're going to need to rediscover their best very quickly if they want this title race to remain competitive.

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