Mancini issues defiant response as City’s minor wobble continues

Luke Moore came off the bench to head the game’s only goal seven minutes from time but it was far from a smash-and-grab effort from Brendan Rodgers’ men, who dominated for long periods after City goalkeeper Joe Hart saved Scott Sinclair’s first-half penalty.

Manchester United’s 2-0 victory over West Brom at Old Trafford means their city rivals will go into next weekend off the top of the table for the first time since October 15.

City could be four points adrift by the time they host Chelsea next Monday, but Mancini feels a second 1-0 defeat in four days, following Thursday evening’s Europa League reverse at Sporting Lisbon, does little to alter the overall title picture.

“It’s been difficult the last four days for me, but football is this - sometimes you can lose,” he said.

“I don’t think that we deserved to lose this game. I should say that Swansea played very well in the first 30 minutes. They played very good football.

“But in the second half we had control of the game. We missed three or four chances on the counter-attack and we conceded a stupid goal.

“Now it’s important that we are very confident together because it changes nothing. It is better to stay on the top and now we are behind, but this doesn’t change our targets.”

Mancini went on to state the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium on April 30 may well determine the destination of the title.

“I think that this championship maybe will be decided three games from the end,” he added.

“The season is long. What’s happened today can happen also to United in the next game and we can go again on the top. It will change nothing.”

On a wholly unsatisfactory afternoon for City, England midfielder Gareth Barry reacted angrily to being substituted in the first half before Yaya Toure and Mario Balotelli were reportedly embroiled in a heated row at the interval.

Mancini claimed he had no knowledge of the Toure and Balotelli incident and was also unaware of the exact nature of an injury he revealed Barry has carried for the past three weeks.

“Gareth has a problem, I don’t know what, but for three weeks. Not a big injury, a small problem,” he said.

The victory moves Swansea onto 36 points. Rodgers said: “I really want to sprint over the finish line.”