Mancini disappointed to see unbeaten run end
Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini said he could not understand why his side were not awarded a first-half penalty during their defeat by Chelsea.
Having taken an early lead, City were denied a spot-kick when David Silva was tripped by Jose Bosingwa in front of referee Mark Clattenburg.
Chelsea went on to win 2-1 to end the visitors’ 14-game unbeaten league run.
“The referee was too close to decide this and probably didn’t see it,” Mancini told BBC Sport.
“It was probably because it was raining and cold that he didn’t see the penalty because all the stadium saw the penalty. Only he missed it.
“But he saw very well their penalty, he was really sure. I don’t agree with him.”
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Frank Lampard came off the bench to earn Chelsea a vital win which puts them third, seven points behind Mancini’s league leaders.
The English midfielder scored after Joleon Lescott was penalised for handling the ball following Daniel Sturridge’s shot.
Before that, City were reduced to 10 men on the hour when full-back Gael Clichy received his second yellow card and they failed to hang onto a point after Raul Meireles equalised following Mario Balotelli’s second-minute opener.
Mancini bemoaned his side’s inability to score more than one goal in a first half they dominated for long periods, and admitted that the sending off was the turning point.
“I think we deserved to score two or three goals in the first half because we did a fantastic performance but in football if you don’t score you can lose and after the sending off it was difficult to play,” he said.
“Chelsea played better when we had 10 players and before that they didn’t take any risks.
“I think we are strong enough for the next game [against Arsenal] and I hope we can do another 14 games without defeat.
“December and January will be crucial months for us and it was important not to lose this game. The season is very long, and all the teams can play for the title.”