Fernandinho says Manchester City’s inability to beat Sunderland on Wednesday was “a complete disaster” and he and his teammates were guilty of making a major “mistake.”
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The Brazil international gave City a second-minute lead against the Premier League’s bottom club, but they soon found themselves trailing 2-1 before Samir Nasri scored a late equaliser.
And a return of one point from their last two games -- following the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool -- leaves City as the outsiders of the three teams battling to win the title.
“It's a very disappointing result,” Fernandinho told City’s official website. “The whole team is disappointed about the result, especially in the way we played. The result was a complete disaster for us.
“We started well and scored the goal, but for 50 minutes after that we lost control of the game and they played better than us. Right at the end we tried to score another goal but it wasn't enough.
“We scored after two minutes but then changed our style of game and paid for it. They had three clear chances in the first half and then scored two in the second half, when we lost our position on the pitch.
“We need to keep our heads up and think about the next game, when we cannot make a silly mistake, as we did [against Sunderland].”
City have played 13 more games this season than league leaders Liverpool and Fernandinho believes fatigue could have been a factor in their recent stumbles.
“It can make some difference because we have been going for the Champions League, the Premier League and both cups and maybe our players are feeling a little tired,” he added.
“Maybe it has made a difference, but our team was good, especially in December and January.”