Mancini: City have room for improvement

Such are the standards set by Roberto Mancini at Manchester City, a 3-0 win over Wigan will not cut for a pass mark anymore at Eastlands.

The Italian boss regretted his side’s wasted chances in the opening half, which saw them convert just once despite a plethora of openings – the most blatant of which was Carlos Tevez’s weak penalty attempt, kept out with moderate ease by Wigan stopper Ali Al-Habsi.

“I think we had about 15 chances in the first half and only scored one goal and this is a problem because every moment in a game can change,” he said.

“Maybe the game was closed after the second goal, but next time we have to close the game in the first half.”

“The whole team played very well, but we need to improve. We’ve started the season very well, but the season will be long and if we are to stay on top for a long time we need to improve.”

Opposing manager Roberto Martinez was not fooled by City’s dominance of the game, stating that, in time, the mighty Manchester outfit could draw parallels to the Spanish force of Barcelona.

“Only time will tell (if City can match Barcelona). I think Barcelona, three years ago, when they started with Frank Rijkaard, they had little flashes like Manchester City showed,” Martinez said.

“Three years down the line, you’ll be able to compare to a side like Barcelona. Nobody can be compared to Barcelona yet. You have to win many titles, you have to play many games together.”

“But what is quite clear is that the ingredients of this Manchester City have got the capability to achieve anything in world football.”

Martinez summed up the quality of City well, stating that nothing but perfection could threaten to take points away from Eastlands this season.

“It is fair to say that Manchester City have earned the status to be title challengers,” he said.

“But from our point of view, when you come to places like this you need to be perfect. I don’t think we were.”

“I think we were far, far away from what we can be. If you don’t perform at your best, the quality of the opposition will show.”