Man City’s Richards: Pellegrini lied and told us Man United had won

Micah Richards has revealed Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini tricked his players into believing Manchester United had beaten Southampton ahead of their win at West Ham.

The defending Premier League champions had in fact been pegged back by Southampton as Adam Lallana netted an 89th-minute equaliser to secure a point at Old Trafford.

The Citizens went on to secure a 3-1 victory over the Hammers in Saturday’s late game courtesy of Sergio Aguero’s brace and David Silva’s goal at Upton Park.

“We thought [United] were winning one nil,” Richards told the Mirror. “The manager said they had won, Arsenal had won and Chelsea had won, and so we had to win.

“Maybe it was a bit of reverse psychology but it was obviously nice. We just knew we had to win.”

Following the win, Pellegrini heaped praise on City for bouncing back from recent away defeats at Cardiff and Aston Villa.

“Winning the game was the most important thing for us. We played very well, and the best player for West Ham was their goalkeeper.

“We played as well as we did against Aston Villa [when City lost 3-2]. Someone asked me if I needed to change the way we played away, and I do not think so.

“This team should always play in attacking way because of the players we have.

“We were absolutely sure playing the way we were, we would win away. We lost against Cardiff and Aston Villa, but football is like that.”