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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
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Fulham125341717018
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle125341313018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham124351519-415
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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