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Cape Town - Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has admitted that his side’s failure to maintain their intensity was to blame for their 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday.
City found themselves ahead in the 14th minute courtesy of a Sergio Aguero header, the striker's 100th Premier League goal.
Just when City seemed to be cruising, Vurnon Anita brought them down to earth when he scored the equaliser for Newcastle in the 31st minute, a goal which prevented City from walking away with a crucial three points and boosted Newcastle’s hopes of avoiding relegation.
Pellegrini revealed that he was pleased with his side’s start, but believes that they let their guard down after taking the lead, which allowed Newcastle to draw level.
"I am happy. We started winning the game but we could not have the control after that. We knew that it was very tough," he told reporters.
"The officials have nothing to do with the result. I didn't see the team with the energy from Saturday but we play after three days at the end of the season and it is not easy for the team to recover.
"We knew it was going to be a very tough game. Newcastle are playing against relegation and they are at home.
"We created chances but not enough to win. Every game in the Premier League is intense and if you don't keep it up for 90 minutes you don't win games."
City are now in third place on the Premier League standings, but just one point ahead of Arsenal, who have a game in hand, and five points in front of Manchester United, who have a chance to close the gap when they face Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
