MANCHESTER, England -- Manuel Pellegrini admitted that Manchester City had got complacent as they squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at home against relegation-threatened Burnley.
City were on course for a club record 10th successive win after David Silva and Fernandinho had scored first-half goals.
But George Boyd, with a goal Pellegrini thought should have been disallowed, and Ashley Barnes struck in a second-half fightback for Sean Dyche's team as City missed the chance to close the gap to league leaders Chelsea to one point.
"Maybe, winning 2-0, we thought the game was over," Pellegrini said in a news conference. "But until the last whistle, the game is never finished.
"Football has a lot of things that decide the score. We played well in the first half, we were 2-0 up. In the first minute of the second half, Burnley scored a clear offside goal. After that, they scored their second from a rebound.
"In football, just two balls can decide the score. I think we played very well in the first half. In the second half, when they scored they grew."
Both sides were playing their second game in three days, but Pellegrini felt City had a disadvantage.
"It is difficult for all the teams, especially our team because we played on a very heavy pitch against West Bromwich in the last game, to keep the same pace in the second half," he explained.
Pellegrini pronounced himself pleased with City's points tally at the half-way stage of the season, adding: "We finished the first round with 43 points, and that is a good amount of points."
City were without Yaya Toure, who had a minor groin injury, and Pellegrini felt it was too much of a gamble to select his vice-captain. He said: "Yaya Toure was not able to play today. It was a risk for him. The players that played were the players who were able to."
Burnley manager Sean Dyche praised former non-league striker Barnes, saying: "That is one of the best centre-forward performances I have seen in a long, long time.
"He encapsulates the players playing with freedom with a sublime finish. He has got his chance. I stuck with him. There were big question marks from our fans when I put him in."
Dyche made no substitutions and fielded the same starting XI that played against Liverpool 48 hours earlier.
And he said: "It is incredible people are making that point. I never question the physicality of the group. They are super-fit. They cover less distance than last season more at high intensity."