Pablo Zabaleta has revealed that Manuel Pellegrini wants Manchester City to "kill the ball" and swamp the opposition. The emphatic 4-0 home win over Newcastle United was the first indication of how the new manager has coached City to play as his side moved possession quickly and pressed at high tempo to win back the ball.
Zabaleta said: "The performance was fantastic, the team spirit was great and this is the way we want to play. If you saw Pellegrini's teams before he came to City, they always played this way. They were very aggressive, always trying to kill the ball, get into spaces and, above all, playing to win. He produces aggressive, attacking teams who play with a good tempo and a high intensity. We did that.
"It was hard for Newcastle after the sending-off [of Steven Taylor before half-time]. They had a player less and had to cope with [Jesús] Navas playing wide with two strikers in front of him and [David] Silva coming from inside. It would have been hard for any team to have stopped them, let alone one with 10 men. [Sergio] Agüero and [Edin] Dzeko did well together and they will add a lot of goals.
"As for Navas, it is sometimes hard for new players, especially when they come from another league and you have to adapt to a new country, a new language and a new life. But this is a squad where plenty of Spanish is spoken and we will do our best to help him. It did not take me long but then everyone is different."
Goals from Silva, Agüero, Yaya Touré and Samir Nasri put City at the top of the table on Monday, and Zabaleta hailed Pellegrini's preparation for the season. "We have been working really well. His communication with the players has been good and he has made his ideas very clear. We know the way we want to play. It is obviously only the first game of the season but we scored goals, kept a clean sheet and now we move on to Cardiff."
Gaël Clichy also underlined how Pellegrini wants to approach games: "When you play for a team like City you always want the three points," the left-back said. "His idea is to play attractive football, to score goals and create chances. But the most important thing is three points."
The trip to Cardiff is on Sunday and Zabaleta, who signed a new four-year deal on Monday, is clear that a good start is required to give City the best chance of becoming champions again. "It is very important and before the international break we have to beat Cardiff and Hull City at home," said the Argentinian, also looking beyond Manchester United and Chelsea as potential rivals. "You mustn't forget Spurs and Liverpool have a good team, although we have to see what will happen with [Luis] Suárez. The battle for the title is going to be interesting. We want that title back and we will try to get it back with attractive football."
Of his new contract, Zabaleta said: "It feels like home here. I have been here for five years and am really enjoying it. I didn't think twice when the club came to me to discuss my contract. This is the place I want to be and I want more success here. The summer was a hard one.
"At Manchester City the expectation is that you will win trophies and last season was hard and disappointing for everyone but everybody is fresh now, we have had a break and everybody is very focused. We know our target for the season and we will try to fulfil it."
