Manchester City must stop falling behind in games, says Sagna

REUTERS – Manchester City defender Bacary Sagna has warned his team mates they must start seizing the initiative in matches instead of relying on Yaya Toure to get them out of trouble if they are to win the Premier League.

City scored twice in the last eight minutes to record a 2-1 win over Watford on Saturday and looked to be on the verge of losing ground in the title race until Toure volleyed home in the 82nd minute before Sergio Aguero sealed the victory.

Manuel Pellegrini’s men are third in the table, three points behind leaders Arsenal, and Sagna said the team needed to take control of games from the outset rather than being forced to react after falling behind.

“We felt confident because this is not the first time this has happened, that we have come back from being 1-0 down to win the game and score at the end,” the defender told British media.

“But we have to be more careful, because that won’t happen every time.

“You have to take the game and create more chances before you concede.”

Toure’s goal against Watford was the Ivorian’s fifth in the league this season and Sagna said the team could not keep relying on the 32-year-old to bail them out of trouble.

“He is a very important player for us. He is our captain while (Vincent) Kompany is away and he scored a great goal and he scored against Sunderland and Arsenal,” Sagna said.

“He can’t be on top and score in every game. But he did it at Watford and has been doing that in the last few.

“Yaya has been very important to us as a team, and we all trust him. He is also one of the leaders.

“But we all have to be leaders, and step up on the pitch.”

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)