Source: Man_City
Zabaleta looks to Chelsea
Pablo Zabaleta tackles Ricardo Fuller on Wednesday nightDefender Pablo Zabaleta claims Manchester City will not dwell on their cup misery as they redouble their efforts to secure Champions League qualification. City's hopes of ending a 34-year wait for silverware were dashed as they crashed out of the FA Cup in a fifth-round replay at Stoke. Coming after their Carling Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United, the defeat was a blow to the lofty ambitions of the club's owners. But with fourth place in the Barclays Premier League and a potential route into Europe's elite competition still well within reach, Zabaleta is confident City will finish the campaign strongly. The 25-year-old Argentina international said: "We are disappointed about the result - I think we played well, our performance was good. "But this is football and on Saturday we have got a great game against Chelsea in the Premier League. "We now have to concentrate very much on the Premier League, we are out of the cups now. "We have a great chance to fight for fourth position. The race for fourth is very difficult but we have got a great chance to be there." City failed to get the better of Stoke in all three of the sides' encounters in the space of 12 days this month. City chances All ended 1-1 after 90 minutes with last night's contest settled by extra-time goals from Ryan Shawcross and Tuncay. City's Craig Bellamy had taken the game into an additional 30 minutes by immediately cancelling out Dave Kitson's 79th-minute opener. But City's hopes took a turn for the worse after striker Emmanuel Adebayor was harshly sent off for raising his arms to Shawcross. The visitors, again without the influential Carlos Tevez, were second best throughout extra time and there are now concerns over their form after just two wins in eight matches. Zabaleta says there are no excuses and the team will quickly put the disappointment behind them. He said: "In the first half we had three or four chances to score some goals. "After that, with one player less after Ade was sent off, it was too difficult for us. "I didn't see it but the referee makes decisions and we have to accept this. It was very bad for the team. "We are disappointed but we have to recover very well to be ready for Saturday. "We have games with Chelsea and Tottenham that are very important for the future." Zabaleta's compatriot Tevez, City's top scorer, has missed the last four games after returning to Argentina following the premature birth of his daughter. He is expected to return in time to feature against Premier League leaders Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. What do you think? Have your say.| Submit Comments| Comments (1)| PrintWhat's this? Emaildel.icio.usDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponNewsvineGoogle BookmarksNetscapeTechnoratiWindows LiveYahoo! MyWebMa.gnolia
