Manuel Pellegrini on the Brink as Manchester City's Title Hopes Fade at Burnley

BURNLEY — Not since Roberto Mancini’s ill-fated final season in charge have Manchester City looked quite as abject as they did in their 1-0 defeat to 18th-placed Burnley on Saturday evening.

It’s a result that confirmed the end of their faint title hopes that, in truth, had long since dissipated, surrendered in meek, lacklustre circumstances. Manuel Pellegrini’s team won’t be holding the Premier League trophy aloft this May, and nor do they deserve to. This was a woeful display that saw them drop points against a weaker side—their undoing throughout a frustrating campaign.

George Boyd’s beautiful strike won it for Burnley, capping a fine display from the former Hull City man. For City, now begins a period of soul-searching. This campaign is threatening to descend into something altogether more catastrophic, with this their fifth defeat in 10 matches leaving them five points adrift of Chelsea, who have played two fewer games, and looking over their shoulder at the chasing pack. Arsenal are now just one point behind in third.

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The sight of Pellegrini looking incapable of galvansing his side from the touchline was bad enough; his post-match comments suggesting that this was a “normal performance” were far worse. What game was the Chilean watching? To the rest of the world, this was a disjointed, soulless display in which City were outfought by a side containing 10 players who were playing Championship football this time last year. There really were no excuses.

Very few City players left the field at Turf Moor with their reputation enhanced. Fernandinho gave an excellent first-half display full of powerful running and intelligent tackles and interceptions, and Sergio Aguro tried to inject some urgency in his side’s play but was wayward with his finishing throughout.

Most others, though, were desperately disappointing. Yaya Toure, so often viewed as City’s most lethal weapon, gave an inept performance alongside Fernandinho. Edin Dzeko, whose season has been extremely poor, looked completely off the pace and incapable of providing the Blues with any spark or creativity.

City now travel to Barcelona for a crucial Champions League last-16 match, trailing 2-1 from the first leg at the Etihad Stadium. The idea they will emerge from that game having moved into the last eight for the first time since they entered the competition in its current incarnation seems fanciful, but it’s all they have left to keep their season alive. Two early exits from domestic cups and a powder-puff title defence have left them with nothing else to fight for.

Afterward, Pellegrini seemed incapable of dissecting what he’d seen. “I think it was a normal performance,” he said. “Not one of our best—the result indicates that. We tried to give everything but we did not have a good day. I will not give up on the title until it is mathematically impossible, but this result makes winning more difficult.

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“Every point we drop makes it more difficult to come back at Chelsea and win the league. All we can do from here is try our best to win the next game.

“Football is not all about money. It is an important thing, but we know any team can beat another in the Premier League. We needed to make more chances against Burnley because they only made one and it won them the game.”

Question marks over the City manager’s future remain, with the club’s board of directors now surely considering the possibility of replacing him. His first season was wonderful—a league-and-cup double and more than a century of goals—but this has been shocking, and if Mancini showed us anything in 2012/13, it’s that regression simply will not be tolerated in the corridors of power at the Etihad.

The Italian’s story was, of course, more complicated. His fiery nature and manipulation of the media upset the board, and the players appeared divided and frustrated by his autocratic management style. He left the club's decision-makers with no choice but to get rid.

Pellegrini is well-liked and remains respected by Ferran Soriano, the CEO, and Txiki Begiristain, the sporting director, both of whom were keen to bring him to City in the first place. However, the way the side has been performing this season, which has passed by with very few wins that have felt seismic and capable of being the catalyst for further success, suggests it could well be time for a change.

The availability of better candidates remains an obstacle, and the club will certainly not be rushed into getting rid of a manager who proved his worth last season and for much of his time in La Liga.

If a better, longer-term option did become available, though, it would be irresponsible of the club not to make a change.

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.