Football
Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writer 9y

Man City's Eliaquim Mangala: Alarm bells ringing after heavy losses

Eliaquim Mangala has said Manchester City's preseason thrashings have set alarm bells ringing in their defence.

Manuel Pellegrini's team have conceded four goals twice in their last three games, losing 4-1 to Real Madrid and 4-2 to Stuttgart.

Mangala missed the Madrid clash, but he and captain Vincent Kompany were paired in the middle of the back four against Stuttgart.

The France international has warned that City need to improve quickly ahead of Monday's Premier League opener against West Brom.

"I think what happened against Madrid and Stuttgart rang one or two alarm bells and maybe showed we have to change something," Mangala told City's official website.

"We can't play the way we did in those two games against West Brom or we'll get punished.

"That's why they were valuable games for us -- but the fact is that it is better to find out in preseason friendlies than in the Premier League because the results are not as important. It also gives us an idea of the areas we need to work on and improve.

"Everything is focused on our first game against West Brom and, by Monday, we'll be ready and focused."

Mangala said he had not yet reached peak condition, adding: "I need to find my match sharpness, which is normal for all of us at the stage of the season."

The 24-year-old endured a mixed first season at the Etihad Stadium after his £42 million arrival from Porto as City failed to defend either their Premier League or Capital One Cup titles.

"It's a big season for me and it's a big season for all of us because we didn't win any trophies in 2014-15, and this year we want to put that right," Mangala said.

"For a club like Manchester City, it's not good enough to end up empty-handed -- we want to win the title and other trophies and go as far as we can in the Champions League, and that's the mentality we have at the club."

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