City conceded a late goal to throw away what would have been a hard-earned point in the capital and yet another defensive mistake proved costly in a tight encounter that could have gone either way.
In the dying seconds, a mix-up between Joe Hart and Matija Nastasic allowed Fernando Torres to nip in with the winner, but Pellegrini has stood by his players, stating that now is not the time to criticise and revealing that the error will be properly analysed in due course.
“We are losing stupid points. In the three defeats we have had away, we did not deserve to lose one of them,” Pellegrini asserted.
“I don’t know if it’s the worst way to lose but it is certainly one of the worst ways. We played very well in the second half and we had control of the game.
“It’s another defeat just like the others we’ve had away from home this year. Another mistake has cost us.
...Manuel Pellegrini...
“I don’t think now is the time to discuss who was responsible. We will look at this in the week and analyse it then.
“We played a very good game. Chelsea had some good chances and they hit the crossbar but in the second half, we had some good chances to score too.”
Pellegrini headed straight down the tunnel after the game, forgoing the usual post-match handshake with his counterpart, Jose Mourinho.
There was some suggestion that the 60-year old may have been irked by the elaborate celebrations following Torres’s goal which saw Chelsea’s Portuguese boss disappear into the home supporters by the benches.
“I did not shake hands. I did not want to,” was Pellegrini’s explanation.
When asked about Mourinho’s celebration, he said: “I didn’t expect anything different.”
