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There’s something rather desperate about Manchester City’s defending at times.

At Stoke City on Saturday, the ease with which the home side ripped through the Blues’ back four was startling. With two of their four centre-halves injured, there are, perhaps, some mitigating circumstances, but for a club with the ambitions City have, it simply wasn’t good enough.

It isn’t an isolated case, either. At Tottenham and Borussia Monchengladbach in September, City were all over the place defensively, and against Liverpool two weeks ago, they were ripped apart from start to finish.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side should be running away with what is a poor Premier League, but their defending is undermining their title challenge.

There is, of course, a collective responsibility to defend well. The back four have sometimes been left exposed by a porous midfield.

But there can be little doubt the club haven’t managed their centre-back situation well enough.

Their over-reliance on Vincent Kompany is becoming a huge concern. The Belgian, 29, has suffered 11 calf injuries in the last three-and-a-half years and no longer appears capable of playing consistently.

Fit and at his best, he’s the finest centre-back in the league, but he’s a liability because of his susceptibility to calf issues.

Eliaquim Mangala is beginning to look like an expensive mistake. He has plenty of natural quality but his reading of the game is lacking. .

The club tried to send him to Valencia at the beginning of the season as part of the deal which saw Nicolas Otamendi arrive but the Frenchman wanted an opportunity to prove himself at the Etihad.

As a result, Jason Denayer moved on loan to Galatasaray. It was all rushed and badly handled, and City have suffered as a result.

With Martin Demichelis also undergoing a rapid decline, it leaves City’s defensive options at odds with their ambitions. They want to compete aggressively for multiple trophies – but their defending doesn’t match those lofty targets.

Demichelis, 34, has been a superb player and at £3.5 million represents one of the finest pound-for-pound signings in the club’s recent history.

But he, it appears, is no longer capable of providing City with the solidity they need.

It’s a situation that needs addressing this summer. Unless Mangala can improve significantly and begin to fulfil his obvious potential, the club are likely to want to move him on. John Stones, Everton’s superb 21-year-old centre-back, would surely top their list of possible replacements.

Demichelis, too, is likely to depart, with Denayer’s return providing a like-for-like replacement.

The fear is that, in the meantime, City’s defending will cost them silverware.