Pellegrini perplexed by 'fake' City display

An embittered Manuel Pellegrini struggled to make sense of Manchester City's performance in their 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool.

City required a win to maintain their grip on top spot in the Premier League but a woeful defensive display - which included an own goal from Eliaquim Mangala - saw them punished by Jurgen Klopp's ruthless visitors. 

And Pellegrini was at a loss when quizzed on his team's performance after the game.

"I'm more than angry. It's difficult to understand why we played so badly today," Pellegrini said.

"The performance was very bad in defending and attacking. They scored four and could have had three more, it is impossible to understand. 

"We worked well during the week, I don't believe the way we played. We must turn the page, you cannot analyse a performance as bad as that. It was a fake game.

"I was not happy with the performance of the whole side. We tried to change at half-time but it was the same.

"If we meant to do it on purpose we couldn't have done it that badly."