Mancini defends his ‘red card’ gesture

 Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has defended his decision to wave an imaginary card at referee Martin Atkinson to signify Maynor Figueroa should have been sent off in the 88th minute of his side's hard-earned 1–0 win over Wigan.

Figueroa, having completely misjudged the bounce of Nigel de Jong's long punt forward, only got a yellow card when he handled the ball to prevent Sergio Aguero running through on goal from the halfway line.

Mancini called for a dismissal but defended his actions, saying: "It is normal when it is something like that. I am on the bench. It is different to a player who is near the referee. They can have more influence.

"From the bench, it is what you think at that moment but the referee doesn't see you."

The row overshadowed a victory that took City three points clear of Manchester United and five in front of Tottenham, whom they face at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

And it was a personal triumph for Edin Dzeko, who ended an 11–match goalscoring drought by heading home his 14th of the season from David Silva's 21st–minute corner.

"I am happy for Edin," Mancini said. "He deserved to score an important goal. “I hope he can continue to score."