Manuel Pellegrini: 'Poor defending cost Manchester City during Tottenham defeat'

Manuel Pellegrini has said that Manchester City made too many defensive mistakes during their 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur.

Kevin de Bruyne gave City the lead but a poor clearance and a goalkeeping mistake led to Tottenham scoring their first two goals.

"When you lose 4-1 it's easy to blame the refereeing mistakes," Pellegrini told reporters. "The clear offside for their equaliser was a matter for the linesman and they scored two clear offside goals.

"One part is about the refereeing decisions but another is about our defensive mistakes. We conceded from two set pieces. It is about marking and concentration, not leadership.

"I thought we played very well in the first half, making many chances, and Tottenham had only one shot on target before their first goal. But once it was 3-1 it was very hard to come back. Afterwards they played very well and we played very bad."

The result has seen City replaced at the top of the Premier League table by arch rivals Manchester United.