Frank Lampard has said that Manchester City missed the presence of captain Vincent Kompany in their 4-1 defeat to Liverpool at the Etihad Stadium.
Kompany missed the match due to a calf injury, while Manuel Pellegrini opted to play Martin Demichelis and Eliaquim Mangala ahead of Nicolas Otamendi.
Mangala had a nightmare start to the match as he diverted the ball past Joe Hart, and strikes from Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino put the Reds in command of the match before Martin Skrtel capped a dominating display by volleying into the net in the 81st minute.
Lampard told Sky Sports News: "City were nowhere near their best, that was apparent from the first 10 minutes when they were off the pace slightly. They have got two centre-halves in there who are not used to playing together, they are missing their captain, and that became apparent very quickly.
"We have all had bad games and when those first couple of passes go astray and then they are running at defenders and they are all over the shop, it is very hard to get that back, particularly when Liverpool keep the pressure on.
"They have to wipe it from their memory, because there is nothing good about it. And the good fact is they are still in the title race, as you can see from the table. I do not think that it changes, though, a few fundamental problems they still have - when Vincent Kompany does not play, you can see that they struggle at the back."
City fell to third place in the Premier League as a result of their defeat.
