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Manuel Pellegrini insists Manchester Citys failure to maintain an interest in the title race was down to a number of factors and not solely on the imminent arrival of Pep Guardiola. In February, Pellegrini himself made public the fact Bayern Munich coach Guardiola would be replacing him at the Etihad Stadium at the end of his three-year stint at the Allianz Arena.Citys form dipped almost immediately, losing three successive matches and falling well behind Leicester and Tottenham in the battle for Premier League supremacy. After Saturdays 3-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Chilean claimed the early news of his departure had had a detrimental effect on the form of the players.But speaking ahead of Tuesdays match against relegation-threatened Newcastle, he clarified his remarks, saying: The mathematical reason we are not challenging for the title is because we lost three games in a row at the start of February. Pep Guardiola taking over from Pellegrini at City in the summer We lost to Leicester and Tottenham at home and Liverpool away and three defeats in a row like that is not normal in this team.When you are in charge of teams, when you are involved in the season, you are in charge of the group then I dont think it is right to try and find different reasons. There is a lot of reasons but the reality is at the moment that we are in third position, not fighting for the title but also that we continue with our winning mentality and try to win. City, who are now unbeaten in five matches and face Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, lie 13 points behind leaders Leicester with five matches of the season remaining. Also See: Newcastle v Man City preview Kompany, Sterling boost for City Paul George Scarpe Nasa . PETERSBURG, Fla. Scarpe Air Max 97 Scontate . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. http://www.airmaxshoponlineitalia.it/scontate-max-plus-outlet.html . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. Nike Air Max Plus Scontate . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Nike Vapormax Scontate . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.Connacht and Saracens secured domestic silverware this weekend but which of their players made our Sky Sports team of the week? 15. Alex Goode (Saracens) Alex Goode capped off an impressive season with a man-of-the-match display at Twickenham Alex Goode just pips Connachts Tiernan OHalloran who was outstanding against Leinster. However, the Aviva Premiership player of the season shone as Saracens claimed a historic European and domestic double with a 28-20 win over Exeter Chiefs on Saturday. The full-back made 167 metres, 104 more than any other player on the field, beating six defenders in the process.After a couple of early fumbles, Goode regained his usual composure and used the Chiefs off-colour kicking game to showcase his ability in attack, capping his fine performance with the decisive try five minutes from time. 14. Timoci Nagusa (Montpellier) Timoci Nagusa scored twice as Montpellier defeated Toulon Nagusa scored a try in each half as Montpellier downed Toulon and edged ever closer to sealing a top two finish in the Top14.Despite Toulons lack of ball and territory they dragged themselves within two points of the hosts five minutes into the second half before Nagusa came to the rescue of his side with a try to take them out of the immediate grasp of the three-time European champions. The winger also topped the metres made stats with 83 in the eventually comfortable win. 13. Israel Folau (Waratahs) Israel Folau helped the Waratahs overcome table-topping Chiefs with an attacking master-class in the centres Israel Folau put in an attacking masterclass as the Waratahs defeated the table-topping Chiefs 45-25. Even then, we battled to break up the Henshaw/Aki partnership but in the end flipped a coin and Folau is in! He lit up the Allianz Stadium when he raced away against the run of play for a 90 metre intercept try before his second of the match in the 64th minute secured the victory for the Australian side. However, it was not just on the scoreboard that the dual international made an impact, he was a thorn in the side of his opponents all match, causing problems with nearly every touch - England beware.12. Bundee Aki (Connacht) Connachts Bundee Aki takes on Leinsters Garry Ringrose Another superb performance from Aki. His battle with the highly rated Ben Teo did not quite materialise as Teo seemed overwhelmed by the occasion.Aki was at the centre of everything Connacht did well and, along with Robbie Henshaw, caused chaos in the midfield in both attack and defence. With 12 carries and 17 tackles, Aki was everywhere.11. Matt Healy (Connacht) Highlights of the Guiness Pro 12 final between Connacht and Leinster from Murrayfield Stadium Healy caught the eye as Connacht claimed their first PRO12 title with an impressive 20-10 victory over Leinster at Murrayfield.The winger oozed class from the word go and it didnt take long for him to make his mark on the game, weaving his way through the Leinster defence from a clearing kick after just 13 minutes.The 27-year-old got his just rewards for a dazzling start to the game moments before the hour mark when he capitalised on an AJ McGinty grubber to take Connacht out of reach of their Irish rivals.10. Lima Sopoaga (Highlanders) Lima Sopoaga produced a sensational piece of skill to open up the Hurricanes defence The Highlanders may have slipped to a 27-20 defeat at the hands of the Hurricanes but that doesnt stop Sopoaga from taking the number 10 spot in our team of the week.His try in the 27th minute got the ball rolling for the Highlanders but it wasnt his finishing that caught the eye.The Highlanders fly-half produced a moment of magic in difficult conditions when he turned his back on the defenders and produced an overhead kick into space for centre Matt Faddes to gather at full-speed. Sopoagas brilliance didnt result in a try as the Canes last ditch defence forced a turnover but it certainly got the rugby world talking. 9. Faf de Klerk (Lions) Faf De Klerk steered the Lions to victory over the Bulls in Pretoria The electric scrum-half was a stand-out performer as he orchestrated the Lions 56-20 win over the Bulls.The seven-try win over the Bulls takes the Lions seven points clear of the Sharks and six clear of the Stormers in the South African group, while condemning the Pretoria side to their first home loss of the season. His quick service and attacking mindset was at the forefront of everything that was goood about the Lions with the scrum-halfs enterprising play securing himself the man-of-the-match award.dddddddddddd 1. Ronan Loughney (Connacht) Connachts John Muldoon (L) and Ronan Loughney celebrates Loughney is one of the hardworking clubmen that Pat Lam has built Connachts success on. A stalwart for 11 seasons at the club, he has worked hard at the coalface and has started the last three games. He was solid in the set-piece and carried well - his defensive efforts were also first rate making 17 tackles in all. In a team full of unsung heroes, Loughney likes to remain under the radar but he fully deserves his place in our team of the week. 2. Schalk Brits (Saracens) Schalk Brits sparked the Saracens attack into life as they claimed a historic European and domestic double Not many teams can call their hooker one of their most potent attacking weapons, but Brits more than fills that description at Saracens. The live-wire 35-year-old was heavily involved throughout the victory but it was after 33 minutes that he stamped his authority on the game, when he spotted a gap and danced past Mitch Lees to set up a scoring opportunity for the north London club that Scotland international Duncan Taylor duly finished.3. Charlie Faumuina (Blues) Charlie Faumuina put in some crunching hits in defence With hands any centre would be proud of and a deceptively quick step, Faumuina is not your average prop.However, in the Blues win over the Crusaders it was his crunching hits in defence that took centre stage. The prop used his sizable frame to put in a bone-shuddering hit on Johnny McNicholl as Crusaders fly-half Richie Mounga kicked two late penalties to down the Blues with a 26-21 victory on Saturday.Faumuina was also excellent in the set-piece but it wasnt enough to secure the victory for his side.4. Joe Launchbury (England) Joe Launchbury was man-of-the-match as England eased past Wales A commanding perfomance from the Wasps lock saw him deservedly receive the man-of-the-match award at Twickenham.His work-rate was exceptional and he dominated in the air, stopping any kind of Wales momentum at line-out time and rising highest at the restarts, while also topping the carries charts with 13. Launchbury showed Jones that he is back to where he was before his spell on the sidelines with a neck injury and is ready to challenge the Saracens duo of George Kruis and Maro Itoje for a starting spot in Australia. 5. Aly Muldowney (Connacht) Connachts Aly Muldowney was a rock in defence for the Irish side As Connacht completed a PRO12 fairytale, Muldowney was a rock in defence. The lock put in 20 tackles during the match but also made a telling contribution in attack.Muldowney stepped into the role of second receiver with ease throughout the match providing passes that many a fly-half would envy while also putting in 14 carries.He will be sorely missed by Pat Lams men next season as he heads for pastures new and Top14 side Grenoble.6. Dave Ewers (Exeter) Dave Ewers of carries against Saracens A tough day at the office for Exeter and Ewers but they showed in the second-half that the future is very bright for the Chiefs. Ewers really put in the hard yards against a very physical Sarries pack and with Thomas Waldrom ruled out, he was their go-to man when it came to taking the ball up.With 16 carries - the second best for Exeter behind Jack Nowell - Ewers was also instrumental in Exeters maul which brought them back into the game. He also topped the Chiefs tackle count - 14 in all. 7. Ardie Savea (Hurricanes) Highlights of the Super Rugby game between the Hurricanes and the Highlanders Savea broke Highlanders hearts when his last-minute try snatched victory from the jaws of defeat for the Hurricanes on Saturday.The flanker had a strong all-round game in Wellington while scoring a brace in the match, including bursting his way through in the final minute to score the match-winning try and reserve the result from last years final.The weekend then got even better for the 22-year-old when he was named in the All Blacks squad to face Wales this summer, joining big brother Julian and justifying his decision to turn his back on his quest for Olympic sevens glory. 8. John Muldoon (Connacht) John Muldoon captain Connacht to Guinness PRO12 triumph on Saturday The man who lead Connacht to PRO12 glory takes his place at No 8 in our team of the week. His side weathered all that Leinster threw at them while out-playing the favourites in front of a 34,000 plus strong crowd.He ensured his team were at their best and werent overawed by the occasion, continuing with their attractive style of play, whilst leading from the front with a man-of-the-match display.After 13 seasons and 275 appearances Muldoon got the rewards he so rightly deserves. Also See: Barnes talking points Greenwood: Perfect preparation Farrell: We want more titles Lam seeks golden Connacht era ' ' '