City’s manager told mcfc.co.uk in midweek that the spirit and defiance show by ten-man Blues in pushing Arsenal all the way could be a watershed moment in the team’s Barclays Premier League campaign.
The demanding Blues boss, who insisted his only disappointment had been the “incorrect” dismissal of Dedryck Boyata in the opening minutes, said: “We know that we did a fantastic job, with spirit.”
City resume their keen pursuit of leaders Chelsea tomorrow at second-bottom Wolves, having been caught up on 17 points by Manchester United as well as Arsenal following that first home defeat since April.
Asked about winning the title, Mancini said: “I don’t know - it’s difficult to say this. We are a good team. Chelsea is the best team, but we beat Chelsea and played very well against them. It will depend on us.
“If we have the same attitude that we had against Arsenal, then I think that we can beat all the teams. It depends ... we must work, we must improve, we must recover the (injured) players.
“But I am happy with the players, they understand they are a strong team. If we play like we played against Arsenal, we’ll have a fantastic year.
If we are in the same situation again with ten players, we’ll probably win
“We must win every game if we want to play for the top of the table, and every game is tricky. Against Wolves it will be the same as against Blackpool, against Wigan. but if we have the same attitude we had against Arsenal, I think that we can win.”
Mancini - who said earlier this season he was now as familiar with Wolves as he was with Juventus - shrugged off any notion that Mick McCarthy’s strugglers are over-physical in their approach to the game.
He said: “I don’t think that in the Premier League just one game is physical. Every game is difficult. I don’t think Wolverhampton deserve to stay at the bottom of the table because usually they play very well, and tomorrow we must play a good game if we want to win.”
