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Manuel Pellegrini plays down Jose Mourinho mind games

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini refuses to be drawn into managerial mind-games with Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini is refusing to be drawn into managerial mind-games with Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho.

Despite being top of the Premier League table at the time, the Portuguese wrote off his team's chances of winning the title after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday.

However, Pellegrini, whose side sit four points adrift of new leaders Liverpool with two games in hand, has no intention of becoming embroiled in off-the-field tactics with his opposite number by suggesting that he is above them.

"I don't think that important managers can give any importance to those mind games, and I don't know if you think that managers who seem to play mind games are more intelligent, I don't think so," the Chilean said to Sky Sports.

"I do not know what Mourinho said, and I don't know the way he thinks. [But] it is not my duty to analyse what Mourinho has said. That is your duty."

City resume their title challenge by welcoming Southampton to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, while Chelsea host Stoke City at Stamford Bridge.

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Chelsea's Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho gestures during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge in west London on February 8, 2014
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TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool119112161528
2Manchester CityMan City117222213923
3Chelsea115422113819
4Arsenal115421812619
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest115421510519
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton115421915419
7Fulham115331613318
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
9Aston Villa115331717018
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1151523131016
11Brentford115152222016
12Bournemouth114341515015
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd114341212015
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Leicester CityLeicester112451421-710
16Everton112451017-710
17Ipswich TownIpswich111551222-108
18Crystal Palace11146815-77
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves111371627-116
20Southampton11119721-144


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