Manchester City's Roberto Mancini shrugs off Ashley Cole comments following defeat to Chelsea
Posted Tuesday, December 13, 2011 by YAHOO Sport
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has dismissed Chelsea’s Ashley Cole following the London outfit’s 2-1 win over the table toppers, with the full back thought to have riled up the visitors in the tunnel after the final whistle.
The league leaders started the brighter of the two teams, going ahead through Mario Balotelli after just two minutes. However, a Raul Meireles strike and a penalty from Frank Lampard enabled Chelsea to take all the spoils and leave City with its first taste of defeat in the campaign.
Mancini admits he did not understand what Cole had said, but says he can be happy if Chelsea was riled up and excited because it meant they thought his side were a "top team".
The Italian told reporters: “I don't know if Cole said something, I didn't understand it, but if the Chelsea players are saying we are a top team, for us that's really important. They were lively because they beat a top team.”
Lampard, the man with the winning goal, admits such results leave players highly emotional but insists there is still respect between the two sides.
“Sometimes you get overheated,” he said. “Big games, big players who want to win things on both sides, and there was a bit of frustration.
"I've been involved in that before but there's general respect from both teams to each other."
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