Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has told Sky Sports that he has no regrets about starting Vincent Kompany at Liverpool on Sunday. The City and Belgium captain played the full ninety minutes despite suffering with a knee injury he had picked up in training.
Kompany is without a doubt one of the most consistent and strongest centre-backs in the top flight, but he had an afternoon to forget on Sunday as the 28-year-old was seen to be at fault for all three of the home side’s goals.
However I back up Pellegrini’s decision to select his captain in the heart of defence. This is the one area where City have struggled this season and Kompany is normally the one man you can rely on to produce a performance when it is most needed.
Barcelona had a similar conundrum last season when they played a visibly unfit Lionel Messi in the first-leg of their Champions League clash with eventual winners Bayern Munich. This also backfired.
If Pellegrini hadn’t of picked Kompany, then many questions would have been raised and many answers sought after. It really is a no-win situation for a manager when one of their star players is not fully fit ahead of a key clash.
It is vital the former Malaga boss invests in another top-class centre-half ahead of next season. Then he can turn a no-win scenario into a win-win situation.