Manchester City's Performances Are Undermining Their Premier League Title Bid

At this stage of the season, with the games coming so quickly and in such an unforgiving manner, the result is always the most important thing.

Manchester City secured three points against Swansea City with a 2-1 win on Saturday, courtesy of a last-gasp Yaya Toure strike that deflected in off Kelechi Iheanacho. The young Nigerian is likely to be credited with the goal, but it was the brilliance of his Ivorian team-mate that got City out of jail.

It’s a result that keeps them on track to be involved in the Premier League title race as the new year approaches, but in truth, City looked anything but title-winners in this game.

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.@MCFC's last 16 #BPL home matches: WWLWWWLWWWWWWWWW pic.twitter.com/86T8FBvPGJ

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 13, 2015"

Their performances are failing to convince. Manager Manuel Pellegrini is right to point to injuries as a key factor in his side’s inability to run away with the league in the way they really ought to, with the Chilean so often denied his best players this season, but it doesn’t excuse some of the deficiencies running through their play.

They have won their last two games—decent enough form at a glance—but there are serious flaws undermining their bid for silverware.

The 2-0 defeat to Stoke City last time out in the Premier League was appalling—possibly their worst performance under Pellegrini.

The win against Borussia Monchengladbach on Tuesday was delivered in breathless and exhilarating circumstances, with the Blues topping their Champions League group against the odds, but the first-half display once again highlighted their defensive instability.

OLI SCARFF/Getty Images

And Saturday’s 2-1 win over Swansea was fraught with difficulty, with City looking disjointed, lethargic and, once again, poor at the back.

There are very obvious benefits to winning games when not at your best, particularly at this stage of the season, when the calendar becomes unrelenting. However, Pellegrini will surely be unnerved by what he is seeing from his team.

Toure’s performance was a huge positive against the Swans, with those unique, lung-busting runs from deep that so many people had said were a thing of the past back in evidence and driving City forward at vital moments.

His curling left-footed shot in the dying moments may have looped in off Iheanacho, but it was another example of his match-winning brilliance. How many times has Toure come to City’s rescue?

"I think Yaya was one of the best players in this game," Pellegrini told reporters afterward.

"In the first and second halves he was the player who tried to create different things.

"The goal he scored in the last minute was a reward. He made a really important effort in the week. He had just come in from an injury in his calf. He played the whole game in the Champions League and the whole game today. I am very happy for him."

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We will fight until the end. Always!! Great to get the win today! 👍🏾 #ComeOnCity!!! #GreatWeek pic.twitter.com/3LgZ2GFiix

— Yaya Touré (@YayaToure) December 12, 2015"

And Joe Hart continued his fine season with another commanding display in goal, making a string of decent saves to frustrate the visitors. It’s doubtful City fans would swap him for any other ‘keeper in the league given his current form and standing in the dressing room.

The holes elsewhere, though, were glaring.

The concerns over Eliaquim Mangala are growing by the game. His natural attributes are clear—he’s an archetypal centre-half in stature—but his concentration and reading of the game continue to undo any positives his physicality offers. His defending for Bafetimbi Gomis’ goal was shocking and not what is expected of a top-level centre-half. A summer bid for Everton's John Stones surely beckons if Mangala doesn’t improve.

Nicolas Otamendi looked shaky alongside him, although he’s shown promise since his emergence as a City regular, and Wilfried Bony, despite his second goal in as many games, continues to look as though his style simply isn’t suited to City’s.

The 4-2-3-1 formation Pellegrini now favours requires movement and quick, incisive runs from the striker. That isn’t Bony’s game. City aren’t playing to his strengths. Nor is he playing to theirs.

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Thank you for the support from both fans today 👍 pic.twitter.com/lBPKwb1Lza

— Wilfried Bony (@wilfriedbony) December 12, 2015"

The Blues, who sit top of the table—for the time being at least—remain favourites for the title and rightly so. No other side in the division can match their squad.

But their current performances suggest winning the title will be much more arduous than it should be. Injuries are a factor in their disjointedness, but they should be playing far better than they are.

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Will @Arsenal lead the standings after Sunday's action? pic.twitter.com/vkVjOOFwJ4

— Premier League (@premierleague) December 13, 2015"

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2015/16 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @RobPollard_.