Mancini furious over injury-time blunder

Posted Monday, April 19, 2010 by theguardian.com

Mancini furious over injury-time blunder
Craig Bellamy's attempted cross-field pass in stoppage time led to City's shattering defeat in the Manchester derby.

Roberto Mancini has described himself as "angry and disappointed" about the mistake by Craig Bellamy that may have caused lasting damage to Manchester City's aspirations of reaching next season's Champions League qualifying round.

Paul Scholes's winning goal stemmed from Bellamy losing possession by trying a 60-yard cross-field pass in the third minute of injury time. Mancini did not name Bellamy directly but the manager's key word is "concentration" and he was dismayed by the manner in which his team contributed to their own downfall.

"In the final minutes of a game like that you must try to keep the ball and play slowly because the game is finished," he said. "I'm angry and disappointed about this. When you play a good game like we did, you don't deserve to lose in the last seconds."

Asked whether he had talked to his players beforehand about United's habit of scoring late goals, Mancini said: "Yes, of course we did. We prepared very well. We played with a good spirit. We played with four attackers – three strikers and a winger – because we wanted to win this game. And I think we played at the same level as United. But we had a lapse of concentration at the end.

"It's a hard defeat to accept because of the way we lost in the final seconds, but we are still in a good position. We have four games left – difficult games – but I am still confident we will finish fourth. In the four months I've been here we have improved a lot and in the next year we will continue to get better."

Mancini went on to describe United's victory as "lucky" whereas Gary Neville, the United captain, felt the champions had been the more authoritative side, largely because of the way Scholes dictated play from midfield.

"Paul Scholes was the main difference between the teams," Neville said. "He was like an extra player; he dictated the pace of the game and passed them to death. The way he managed to get to the ball in the last minute to head the winner was fantastic. He fully deserves the accolades he gets."

Edwin van der Sar was equally effusive about a player his former Ajax team-mate Edgar Davids once described as the best midfielder of his generation. "A lot of players in Holland say that about Scholes," United's goalkeeper said. "But they also say it in Italy and elsewhere. His image isn't that big, and of course he's not into publicity and that side of things, but I know that every year the big players recognise the quality of Scholes – his passing ability, his technique, scoring ability.

"Even Xavi and [Andrés] Iniesta are talking about him, so many, many players have a lot of respect for him as a player and for what he has done for United during his career."