Man City relishing chase of leaders, says Nasri
Midfielder says experience of overhauling Liverpool last season puts champions in good stead
Samir Nasri insists Manchester City are determined to prove they have the mental strength to retain the Barclays Premier League title for the first time in the club's history.
After ending a 44-year wait to be champions in 2012, City failed to maintain the same intensity the next season, being forced to settle for second best, 11 points behind Manchester United. However, having finished strongly to pip Liverpool to the title last season, Nasri is adamant that City will learn from that previous experience as they look to overhaul Chelsea during the second half of the present campaign.
"We all know what happened and it’s an example for us," Nasri said of the 2012/13 season. "We know what we need to do, what not to do as well. We learn from our mistakes.
"All we want is to win the league again - and we'll do everything possible to do it."
Nasri committed his future to the club when signing a contract extension in the summer, alongside Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Aleksandar Kolarov. With Joe Hart also recently agreeing a new deal, Nasri believes that stability will stand City in good stead as the pressure mounts in the latter stages of the season.
"Everyone is stronger," he said. "We get older, we get more mature and stronger mentally. You learn to deal with different situations.
"At this club, we've been through all the different situations. We know how to deal with the pressure. We know that we are good at being second and chasing someone. We’ve done it before. We know how to deal with every situation and we are ready for it."
City missed out on the chance to close the gap on Chelsea when drawing 2-2 at home to Burnley on Sunday after leading 2-0, with Jose Mourinho's side having earlier been held to a 1-1 stalemate at Southampton. Nasri gave credit to Burnley after they ended City's run of nine straight wins in all competitions.
"We were winning 2-0 at home against a team who are playing for survival, but you have to say they played really good football," Nasri said. "They were dangerous during the whole game and I have so much respect for managers who come here and try to play the game.
"Look at their team, they played exactly the same XI as played against Liverpool. Both teams didn’t have many changes. Sometimes it’s like this and you have to accept it. They played well - a draw was fair."
City have also encountered a few problems against New Year's Day opponents Sunderland over the past few seasons, including a 2-2 Etihad Stadium draw in April.
However, they ended a run of four straight 1-0 defeats at the Stadium of Light when prevailing 4-1 there last month and will be keen to register another clinical victory on this occasion.
After that and the FA Cup 3rd round comes a crucial period for the champions, with a home match against Arsenal between Barclays Premier League trips to Everton and Chelsea.
1 Jan, 3pm Man City v Sunderland
Man City's next 5 BPL matches
1 Jan v SUN (H)
10 Jan v EVE (A)
18 Jan v ARS (H)
31 Jan v CHE (A)
7 Feb v Hull (H)
1 Jan v SUN (H)
10 Jan v EVE (A)
18 Jan v ARS (H)
31 Jan v CHE (A)
7 Feb v Hull (H)
Current form
| Last six matches | ||
|---|---|---|
DRAWN
| 2 - 2 v Burnley (H) | 28 Dec 2014 |
WON
| 1 - 3 v West Brom (A) | 26 Dec 2014 |
WON
| 3 - 0 v Crystal Palace (H) | 20 Dec 2014 |
WON
| 0 - 1 v Leicester (A) | 13 Dec 2014 |
WON
| 1 - 0 v Everton (H) | 06 Dec 2014 |
WON
| 1 - 4 v Sunderland (A) | 03 Dec 2014 |
| Last win/defeat | ||
|---|---|---|
WON
| 1 - 3 v West Brom (A) | 26 Dec 2014 |
LOST
| 2 - 1 v West Ham (A) | 25 Oct 2014 |
Current form
| Last six matches | ||
|---|---|---|
DRAWN
| 0 - 0 v Aston Villa (A) | 28 Dec 2014 |
LOST
| 1 - 3 v Hull (H) | 26 Dec 2014 |
WON
| 0 - 1 v Newcastle (A) | 21 Dec 2014 |
DRAWN
| 1 - 1 v West Ham (H) | 13 Dec 2014 |
DRAWN
| 0 - 0 v Liverpool (A) | 06 Dec 2014 |
LOST
| 1 - 4 v Man City (H) | 03 Dec 2014 |
| Last win/defeat | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WON
| 0 - 1 v Newcastle (A) | 21 Dec 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LOST
| 1 - 3 v Hull (H)
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