Mancini frets over lapses

MANCHESTER City sat proudly at the top of the Barclays Premier League table yesterday morning, but the victory over Bolton that put them there left manager Roberto Mancini stressing his side must do better.

The big spenders are expected to provide a real title challenge to rivals Manchester United and Chelsea this season, and they have begun impressively with two wins out of two.

But, unlike in their opening 4-0 victory over Swansea the previous week, City failed to put their opponents away despite dominating the game and had to settle for a 3-2 scoreline.

Mancini praised the overall display of his side but was irked by the manner in which they conceded. And the Italian knows they must avoid such lapses if they are to stay at the top in the long term. He said: “We dominated the game in the first half, they didn’t have any chances. Then we gave away the ball one time, Petrov crossed easily and it was a goal. The second was the same. If you don’t mark, it’s a problem.”