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Roberto Mancini’s reign as Manchester City manager began on a winning note on Saturday but it was another frustrating day for his fellow Italian Carlo Ancelotti as Premier League leaders Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw by Birmingham.
City’s first match since Mancini’s controversial replacement of Mark Hughes ended in a 2-0 win over Stoke that lifted them to within three points of the top four place targeted by their new Italian manager.
It could hardly have gone any better for the former Inter Milan boss, who was warmly received by the fans before goals from Bulgarian winger Martin Petrov and Carlos Tevez had the points wrapped up by half-time.
“I’m very happy because we won a hard match,” Mancini said. “The players were fantastic. We have been working together for only five days and we must improve but it is a good start.”
Ancelotti meanwhile struggled to put a convincing positive spin on his side’s display after a draw that left Chelsea with just one win in seven matches in all competitions and extended Birmingham’s unbeaten run in the league to ten games.
“We had a lot of chances, showed very good heart and the goalkeeper for Birmingham made very good saves,” Ancelotti said. “We are disappointed with the result but not the performance.”
Birmingham goalkeeper Joe Hart certainly helped earn Alex McLeish’s side their point with a string of fine saves.
But Ancelotti will be concerned about his side’s lack of goals as he prepares for a month without strike duo Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou, who will only be available for Monday’s match against Fulham before heading for the African Nations Cup in Angola.
The result of the stalemate at St Andrew’s is that Manchester United can cut Chelsea’s lead at the top back to two points by beating Hull at the KC Stadium on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
With Aston Villa’s meeting with Arsenal also scheduled for Sunday (Monday AEDT), Tottenham had the opportunity to move up to third place in the table.
But Harry Redknapp’s side could muster no more than a goalless draw from their cross-London trip to Fulham, for whom Clint Dempsey struck the bar with a first-half free-kick.
Liverpool moved back to within five points of a top four finish with a 2-0 win over struggling Wolves at Anfield.
West Ham clawed themselves out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Portsmouth.
David Nugent’s header earned Burnley a 1-1 draw in their Lancashire derby clash with Bolton, who had gone ahead through Matthew Taylor’s superb first-half free-kick.
Bolton remain in the bottom three while Burnley are three points clear of the drop zone.
A late equaliser by Marouane Fellaini enabled injured-plagued Everton to snatch a point at Sunderland, who had claimed a deserved first-half lead through a Darren Bent header.
Benni McCarthy’s first league goal of the season was cancelled out by Hugo Rodallega’s header as Wigan came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw in their Lancashire derby with fellow strugglers Bolton.
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