Vincent Kompany has revealed how he has been playing through the pain barrier to try to lead Manchester City towards the Premier League title.
The central defender injured a knee in training before City’s 3-2 defeat at Liverpool on April 13th. Kompany has since started the side’s subsequent four matches, with City taking 10 of the available 12 points. Only in Saturday’s 3-2 win at Everton did the discomfort ease a little.
“I’ve really had some tough weeks,” the club captain said. “I had to manage the pain and only been able to play, not train too much.
“At Everton I was feeling much better. I felt like I played with a plaster around my knee the last weeks. Now I feel fine. Physically I’m strong again.”
Kompany was to blame for two of Liverpool’s goals in the defeat at Anfield, although he refused to cite the injury as the reason for the mistakes.
The win at Everton kept the destination of the title in City’s hands. If they beat Aston Villa tomorrow evening and West Ham United on Sunday, both at the Etihad Stadium, they will take the crown. Indeed Liverpool’s draw with Crystal Palace last night means they can even afford to draw one of them.
Kompany believes that City's recent run of results is evidence of the players' psychological resilience. "I think you need a lot of mental strength to be in a position like ours," he said.
'Gave everything'
"When we looked at the match against Everton, we thought 'okay, they do not want to play hard because of Liverpool, their neighbours', but we did not notice that.
“Their men gave everything. Especially after the second goal, then it became exciting again, so it was a deserved victory. But it makes the next two games, obviously, still very, very interesting.”
Yaya Toure, moreover, urged his team-mates to continue to be focused. "Both Aston Villa and West Ham are sharp and will come to just enjoy the games but we have a league to play for.
“I hope we complete the job but it depends how sharp we are, how we prepare mentally and physically. We definitely expect to win it – as a team at the top you always expect to win.
“If we don’t win, it would be a massive disappointment for us, for the fans and for the club. Our target was always to win something but for us the League Cup is not enough. The Premier League was always our target, so now we need to be at our optimum levels when Aston Villa come.”
Toure was substituted at Goodison but he said this was a precaution because of the muscle injury suffered at Liverpool.
City are expected to learn what sanctions they will face for breaking Uefa's Financial Fair Play rules next week. Options on what punishment they may face are believed to include financial restrictions on their Champions League squad for next season, plus a heavy fine.
Guardian Service
