Comparing Manchester City's 2013-14 Stats to Their 2014-15 Figures

Manuel Pellegrini's blistering first season in charge of Manchester City is in danger of being forgotten because of the anaemic nature of his second.

City's league-and-cup double of 12 months ago was delivered in style, with free-flowing, attractive football at the centre of Pellegrini's approach. He encouraged freedom in attack and an insatiable appetite for goals, and City were destroying teams.

Given they were rarely able to get Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Sergio Aguero—their four most important players—on the pitch at the same time yet still manage to win two pieces of silverware was testament to the job the Chilean had done.

This season, though, has been beset by inertia and regression. Where once City attacked with flair and confidence, they are now disjointed and inhibited. Many believe the core of the squad is too old—at the end of its cycle and in need of a revamp.

Twelve months in football is a long time, indeed.

But how do the two seasons compare? A closer look at some of the statistics (Premier League only) reveals some major differences.

The most remarkable difference between the two seasons is in the goalscoring department. In their title-winning campaign, City managed 2.7 goals per game, but that has decreased markedly this time around, with just two goals per game registered.

One of the major reasons for this, and something which may end up being one of Pellegrini's biggest regrets of his time at City, has been the loss of Alvaro Negredo.

When the Spanish striker was settled and in form, City were at their best. The relationship he enjoyed with Sergio Aguero produced, for six months at least, the best strike partnership in City's recent history.

They worked superbly well together, with the bullish yet cultured style of Negredo the perfect foil for the fleet-of-foot Aguero, who thrives on space created by others.

Yet Negredo's form fell off a cliff in the second half of the campaign, and as he became unsettled, talk of a move back to Spain materialised. He was allowed to leave for Valencia on loan, and City have never really managed to recreate that settled and fruitful partnership up front since.

With him around, City were simply more clinical. There's been barely any difference in the number of shots they manage per game—13.42 last season compared to 12.67 this, according to PremierLeague.com—but they showed more ruthlessness in front of goal.

Defensively, City were more slightly solid last season. They conceded just under a goal per game (0.97) en route to the title, whereas this year it's been just over a goal per game (1.03).

Much has been made about City's unsettled defence, with the form of Vincent Kompany and Eliaquim Mangala often cited as reasons for City's decline. Yet the stats clearly show that City's difference in terms of goals conceded has been minimal. However, 42 percent of City's games last season saw them keep a clean sheet, a figure which has dropped to 33 percent this season.

City's win percentage this season has been poor, with just over half their games ending in victory (0.57), whereas last season they won 27 of their 38 games (0.71 average).

Interestingly, though, this season's run of 12 games unbeaten is equal to the best sequence they managed during the title-winning campaign.

A large factor in that decline is surely down to City's propensity for conceding the first goal this term. This season, City's opponents have opened the scoring in 36.4 percent of matches, a sharp increase on the last campaign where City only conceded first in 18.4 percent of games.

Jon Super/Associated Press

The first goal in football is very often crucial, and clearly a huge part of City's problems has been their inability to stop the other team from getting it.

There will be some significant alterations to the makeup of City's squad this summer, and it seems adding more efficiency in attack should be their priority.

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.