Mancini wowed by English flair

City 3, Liverpool 0
MANCHESTER City boss Roberto Mancini praised his England stars after an emphatic victory over Liverpool last night.

New boy James Milner was joined in the starting 11 by fellow countrymen Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott, Adam Johnson and Gareth Barry in a convincing team performance.

And Mancini believes they can all play a crucial role this season.

He said: "The team will gel over time, but tonight we had six English players out on the pitch and that is very important.

"All six did very well. The whole side did a good job. We have to believe in ourselves and performances like this can only help."

Former Aston Villa duo Milner and Barry combined for the first goal after 12 minutes.

Good work from Yaya Toure saw him feed Johnson, whose trickery let in Milner down the right hand side.

His precision pass from the by-line found Barry, whose sidefoot effort nestled in the bottom left-hand corner of the net.

A strangely-subdued Liverpool outfit struggled to find a foothold in the contest and Barry – full of beans after his opener – smashed a long-range effort just wide eight minutes later.

It was a couple of minutes before the break before the visitors even looked like threatening.

Fernando Torres, recalled to the starting line-up after his injury problems, squared the ball to skipper Steven Gerrard on the edge of the penalty box, but his shot was sliced uncharacteristically wide.

Seven minutes after the break, City put themselves firmly in the driving seat.

Richards rose above everyone to head Johnson's corner towards goal, with home captain Carlos Tevez adjudged to have got the final touch past Pepe Reina.

Liverpool's biggest and final threat on goal saw Hart brilliantly thwart Torres from point-blank range after Gerrard struck the post from 30 yards and David Ngog's effort was blocked on the line by Lescott.

Tevez put the game to bed after 66 minutes by coolly converting a penalty following Martin Skrtel's clumsy trip on Johnson.

Mancini reserved special praise for debutant Milner.

He said: "James is a fantastic player. Technically, he is very strong and he works hard for the team."

The manager also believes Hart's fine save from World Cup winner Torres justified his selection ahead of last season's first choice between the sticks, Shay Given.

"The save was a big moment for us because if Liverpool had scored to make it 2-1, they would have found hope," he said.

"It shows it is right to play Joe, but I am lucky to have two fantastic goalkeepers.

"I had a difficult decision to make. I hope Shay stays with us."

Italian striker Mario Balotelli was missing from the City squad with a knee injury, but Mancini believes he will be fit for the trip to Sunderland on Sunday.