LONDON — Separated from Chelsea by alphabetical order on New Year's Day, Manchester City now trails the Premier League leader by nine points and its hopes of retaining the title appear to be over. A 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace Monday continued a poor run of form that has brought only four wins in 11 league games and sent City down to fourth, piling the pressure on manager Manuel Pellegrini. City had 74 percent possession, 22 shots and 13 corners against a spirited Palace side but it could only find the net through Yaya Toure's goal. Striker Sergio Aguero, who has bagged 17 league goals this season, has not scored for 556 minutes, a statistic that sums up a side bereft of ideas and confidence. City has spent 327 million pounds ($486 million) since 2011 but much of the money has gone on assembling a disjointed and ageing squad which urgently needs of a major overhaul. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes City does not have the mental strength to regularly deliver silverware. “They've got a mentality problem. There's no doubt,” Neville told Sky Sports. “This team cannot sustain success. “When you win championships, you've got to be able to come back again and show the same hunger. They don't. They drop off it. They get to the top of the mountain and go, ‘phew, we did it', and it's the worst thing that can happen.” City trails third-placed Manchester United by a point and it faces its local rival at Old Trafford Sunday knowing defeat could be the final nail in its season's coffin. Pellegrini, however, remains confident that he will not suffer the fate of his predecessor Roberto Mancini who was sacked for failing to win a trophy a year after City claimed the title. Blackpool rocked Blackpool was relegated to the third tier of English football Monday just four years after playing in the Premier League, while Bournemouth stormed to the top of the Championship with a dramatic 4-2 win over Birmingham. Its plunge into League One was confirmed by fourth bottom Rotherham's 1-0 win over Brighton Monday. Bradley Johnson's season to remember continued as Norwich recorded a 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday to move into the top two for the first time since October. Elsewhere, Wolves climbed into the final playoff place with a remarkable 4-3 home win over Leeds. — Agencies
