Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini says he was left ‘very angry’ by the manner of his side’s stoppage-time 1-0 derby defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League.
Manchester City 0-1 Manchester United
Roberto Mancini: “That’s football, it’s incredible, but for us it doesn’t change anything, we have another four games. We are very disappointed to lose and I’m very angry but always positive. We had some chances and we didn’t deserve to lose but that’s football.
“We played a good game but it was difficult for us and United, and when Scholes scored in the last few seconds it was unlucky. This doesn’t change the situation for fourth place – the crucial match will be against Tottenham here. We have been very unlucky against United and I think we have improved from the last time we met them. I always want to win but sometimes it is not possible.”
Sir Alex Ferguson: “It was an amazing finish. We have three last-minute goals against them now (this season) but deserve it. We had the best chances but it did not look like anyone was going to win. The game became very open in the last 10 minutes. I’d almost given up and thought it would be 0-0.
“You know with us it’s happened so many times we score late and you always hope it will happen again. I decided to put (Paul) Scholes a bit further forward and it paid off. No-one is better than him at ghosting into the box. There was no-one near him and it was a free header.
Tottenham 2-1 Chelsea
Harry Redknapp: “They’ve been fantastic. After the disappointment of last Sunday to come back with these two wins is top class.
“We were even better than we were against Arsenal, in the first 30 minutes we completely dominated.”
Carlo Ancelotti: “The title is still in our hands, we don’t have to be afraid, we just have to look to the next game against Stoke. I don’t think the players were nervous, we knew how important this game was. We didn’t do so good but Tottenham played very well, at the same level as they did against Arsenal.
“We were a little bit down, but this is football. I don’t like to talk about the decisions of the referee, we are disappointed because he (Terry) is not able to play the next game.”
David Moyes: “I thought we played some really outstanding football and the first 20 minutes I thought it was scintillating how we played. I thought Arteta was on a different planet today. He was magnificent.
“I hardly knew how to change it our play had been so good. I was nearly losing the will when they got the second goal back because we’d played some really good stuff and I thought we weren’t going to get anything out of it.”
Sam Allardyce: “He (Mikel Arteta) has poked him (Morten Gamst Pedersen) in the eye, it is clear and plain for everyone to see. The rules are clear – you can’t mess with anyone’s face and that is pretty dangerous. It is a red card.
“Morten gets booked as well and that was a bizarre situation. That is young referees for you, he (Andre Marriner) struggled to cope with some decisions today. But that was a not why we lost. For once our defending let us down.”
Birmingham 0-0 Hull City
Alex McLeish: “After the five breakaway goals from City last week, I wanted a clean sheet and I’m proud of the lads and the way we bounced back. Maybe we didn’t have the imagination or creativity in the final third but we still showed a lot of professionalism.
“We have proved time and time again that we can bounce back. You have bad performances from time to time but the players have got it in their character to respond. You have to dust it off like a bit of dandruff on your shoulder and show what you can do. At the start of the season people were thinking we would maybe win 10 or 12 games to get us safe but the lads have punched above their weight considerably.”
Iain Dowie: “You have to be careful not to over-react at times. No one was more angry, frustrated or fuming at the end of the Burnley game than me after our second-half performance. I had a conversation this week with the players, ramming home what Premier League survival means to the area, the people who work at the club, and the fans.
“I asked for a response in training, then I wanted a positive performance today – and I got it. There weren’t many chances but I thought we shaded it in terms of opportunities. It is a working-class area and people demand the lads put a shift in and you saw that today. We got the response and we will see how important that point is at the end of the season. Given Birmingham’s home record, it was a display to be proud of.”
Sunderland 2-1 Burnley
Steve Bruce: “I have been here long enough now, haven’t I? It wouldn’t be Sunderland without it, would it? The last eight minutes or so became a little bit nervous. Overall, it would have been unjust if they had got something out of it, but it just shows you.
“They stuck at it, to be fair to Burnley, but we should have been out of sight, really. We were close to blowing them away, but didn’t take the chances we created.”
Brian Laws: “They are slim (survival prospects), but they are not impossible and we still take heart from teams who have done it. It’s going to take a lot of great belief in ourselves, and that’s the most important thing. That’s where we are gathering our belief from, ourselves, because nobody else is going to give us it, nobody else is believing we can do it.
“Particularly the media and the press will cut us off and give us no chance, but they said that last week. They thought we were never going to win another game, but we have and again with that fighting spirit, we will give ourselves a chance. It’s three games, nine points and who’s to say we won’t get nine points? You might just say it now, but who can guarantee what results go on. You can’t predict them, nobody predicts what the results are going to be.”
Stoke City 1-2 Bolton
Owen Coyle: “The first half I felt we were as poor as we have been, certainly since I have come here. But if you’re asking where did the win come from, you just have to watch the second half. I thought we should have equalised before we did and there is no doubt in my mind that we were the team in the ascendancy.
“I thought the second-half performance was of a very high standard and if you analyse it, I think we merited the three points – accepting it was very late, but that is the nature of football. There was certainly one or two choice words used, because I felt they were well below what they can offer for this football club. Until we are mathematically safe, it certainly is never enough.”
Tony Pulis: “What surprised me was the hesitation (referee Stuart Attwell’s pause before awarding the free-kick which led to Bolton’s equaliser). If it’s a free-kick, it’s a free-kick and he’s seen it. Why does he let it run for two or three seconds, then bring it back? But we have to take it on the chin.
“The linesman said the ball hadn’t gone out of play and how he can say that is just amazing. It was a drop-ball because I apparently encroached on the pitch. The ball was definitely out.”
Fulham 0-0 Wolves
Roy Hodgson: “It wasn’t a case of Thursday being a distraction today, it was a case of having to deal with a team who are difficult to deal with because they are well-rehearsed with their style of play. They kick the ball up from their goalkeeper and try to hold you in the box and the first thing you have to do is deal with that and don’t slip up and concede goals.
“In the second half we did well to get the ball down and get behind them and we did better. But credit to Mick McCarthy and his team because they were prepared to sweat blood and got their reward.”
Mick McCarthy: “I don’t think we’re there yet but games are running out and we have taken another point. We still have important games left.
“This is silly season. Results are strange this time of year and I don’t want any silly results that might upset us.”
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