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Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini glad to put January wobble behind him after Fulham win
City moved three points clear of rivals United at the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over the Cottagers at Etihad Stadium on Saturday
4 Feb 2012 20:37:00
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By Greg Stobart at Etihad Stadium
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes his side can push on in their challenge for the Premier League title after putting their January slump behind them with victory against Fulham.
City beat the Cottagers 3-0 at a freezing Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening to move three points clear at the top of the table and put pressure on rivals Manchester United ahead of their game at Chelsea on Sunday.
It came on the back of a stuttering run of form in January, during which City won only three of their eight games in all competitions.
“Maybe something can change after this because January was a difficult month,” Mancini said.
“The most important thing is the clean sheet for the team and to win very quickly after the Everton defeat on Tuesday night.
“We know we are fighting against fantastic teams like Manchester United and Tottenham.
“Like us, they know if you want to win this league you have to win all your games and not think about other teams.
“I don’t think United have more pressure. They are used to it because they always stay there.”
Asked whether he would be cheering for Chelsea when the game kicks off at Samford Bridge on Sunday, Mancini replied: “Yes. I will watch the game but I only support Manchester City.”
City produced a comfortable display in the snow against a lacklustre Fulham side and secured the points through goals from striker Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko either side of an own goal from Fulham defender Chris Baird.
Mancini accepted his team may have had luck on their side after Adam Johnson appeared to go down with minimal contact for the spot-kick from which Aguero opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
But the Italian praised his players’ performances and felt the scoreline reflected a professional display from the Premier League leaders.
“I think we played well,” Mancini added. “It’s always good to be lucky and I’m very pleased with my players.
“It was not easy as Fulham is a good team with a fantastic manager. I’m happy because we scored three goals and didn’t concede any chances.”
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes his side can push on in their challenge for the Premier League title after putting their January slump behind them with victory against Fulham.
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City beat the Cottagers 3-0 at a freezing Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening to move three points clear at the top of the table and put pressure on rivals Manchester United ahead of their game at Chelsea on Sunday.
It came on the back of a stuttering run of form in January, during which City won only three of their eight games in all competitions.
“Maybe something can change after this because January was a difficult month,” Mancini said.
“The most important thing is the clean sheet for the team and to win very quickly after the Everton defeat on Tuesday night.
“We know we are fighting against fantastic teams like Manchester United and Tottenham.
“Like us, they know if you want to win this league you have to win all your games and not think about other teams.
“I don’t think United have more pressure. They are used to it because they always stay there.”
Asked whether he would be cheering for Chelsea when the game kicks off at Samford Bridge on Sunday, Mancini replied: “Yes. I will watch the game but I only support Manchester City.”
City produced a comfortable display in the snow against a lacklustre Fulham side and secured the points through goals from striker Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko either side of an own goal from Fulham defender Chris Baird.
Mancini accepted his team may have had luck on their side after Adam Johnson appeared to go down with minimal contact for the spot-kick from which Aguero opened the scoring in the 10th minute.
But the Italian praised his players’ performances and felt the scoreline reflected a professional display from the Premier League leaders.
“I think we played well,” Mancini added. “It’s always good to be lucky and I’m very pleased with my players.
“It was not easy as Fulham is a good team with a fantastic manager. I’m happy because we scored three goals and didn’t concede any chances.”
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
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Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
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