Roberto Mancini was understandably disappointed after seeing Manchester City come unstuck in dramatic fashion at Sunderland.
City boss reflects on dramatic defeat at the Stadium of Light
Roberto Mancini was understandably disappointed after seeing Manchester City come unstuck in dramatic fashion at Sunderland.
On a weekend of shock results, the table-topping Blues found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline at the Stadium of Light.
A surprise setback on Wearside means City missed the chance to edge clear of arch-rivals Manchester United at the top of the table, 24 hours after the Red Devils left the door ajar with a 3-2 reversal against Blackburn.
Mancini was left less than impressed at the final whistle, with Dong-Won Ji having snatched three points for the Black Cats with virtually the last kick of the game.
"I can't believe it. I am really disappointed," the Italian told
Sky Sports.
"Second half we had a lot of chances to score, but we didn't score.
"We can't concede to a counter attack like this. A top team can't concede like that.
Concentration
"Sometimes when you can't win because it is difficult to get the ball in the goal, you can't lose."
He added: "You need to defend. When you attack with seven players, that is enough. You can then concede how we conceded.
"I am disappointed because it is impossible to lose a game like this.
"In the first half we played so-so, we didn't play very well, second half we were better. We deserved to win this game but this is a strange situation."
City have now failed to score in their last two games, having been held 0-0 by West Brom in their previous outing, and Mancini admits he will be looking for a positive response from his side when they welcome Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
"We need to get the concentration for the next game. We play again in 48 hours," he said.
"I think we threw out of the window a big chance to go clear at the top, but the championship is long and we have another 19 games. We need to get another 45 points."
