Pellegrini says Man City will continue fighting for PL title post 2-1 West Ham loss

Manchester City football team boss Manuel Pellegrini has said that his side would continue fighting as there is no title being handed out at the moment, following the defending champions' 2-1 loss at West Ham United in their Premier League clash.

City are five points behind leaders Chelsea, who have 22 points and can extend the gap with a win or draw at Manchester United on Sunday.

Pellegrini said that City is just starting the season and they have 87 points left to play for. So, he added that it is early, The BBC reported.

Defeat ends a difficult week for the English champions after a 2-2 Champions League draw against CSKA Moscow in midweek, in which they let a two-goal lead slip and their latest loss Upton Park means that Cit has dropped 10 points from their opening nine top-flight games.

However, Pellegrini pointed out that last season his team was also off the pace after the same number of games. City had been seventh in the Premier League, on the back of a defeat by Chelsea, after nine games and six points behind leaders Arsenal.

Pellegrini insisted that he continued trusting in his players but acknowledged City's first-half performance and lack of cutting edge cost them against West Ham.

Efforts from Morgan Amalfitano and Diafra Sakho at Upton Park left City 2-0 down and, despite David Silva pulling a goal back, they could not prevent a second league defeat of the season.

Pellegrini said that West Ham played very well and with a very high intensity, adding that his squad had a lot of chances to score but it is difficult to win if one doesn't take them.

Pellegrini said that they were very unlucky in the second half, as they hit the post and went just wide with another. He said that in the first half City did not play with enough intensity.