Having established a two-goal lead on Saturday thanks to efforts from Edin Dzeko in the 52nd minute and Aleksandar Kolarov in the 67th, City appeared to be cruising until captain Vincent Kompany was shown a straight red card with 15 minutes remaining for bringing down Kevin Doyle. Stephen Hunt converted the resulting penalty to set up a tense finale at the Etihad Stadium, but the Blues kept Wanderers at bay before substitute Adam Johnson netted a third for the hosts in stoppage time. It means City are once again five points clear at the top of the Premier League after second-placed Manchester United had temporarily cut the gap earlier in the day with a 1-0 win at Everton, and a delighted Mancini said: "With 15 minutes to go, it was very hard, but I am very proud because with 10 men, we were strong. "We defended strongly because they didn't have any more chances to score, and then we scored another goal. "This is good. When you have 10 players and you can take the result and score another goal, this shows a very good mentality." The match was quite different to the midweek Carling Cup fourth-round meeting between the pair at Molineux, which City had won 5-2. Given that result and the Blues' 6-1 derby demolition of Manchester United in the league last weekend, many expected Saturday's assignment against Wolves to be a comfortable one, but it turned out to be far from the case. The fact that City achieved something of a battling win on this occasion would seem an encouraging sign for their title credentials, although when it was suggested to Mancini that this one had not been quite so spectacular as other recent triumphs, he said: "When you win, it is always spectacular! Even if you win 1-0." While City are flying high, struggling Wolves are now winless in eight league fixtures. Wanderers manager Mick McCarthy thought his side performed well in the first half and expressed his sympathy for goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey, who had pulled off a string of saves in the opening period but then undid his good work after the break. Hennessey, a former City trainee, made a hash of dealing with a backpass and Sergio Aguero's challenge on him saw the ball spin out to Dzeko, who lofted it into the net. The Wales international then parried a strike from David Silva, allowing Kolarov an easy finish. McCarthy refused to criticise Hennessey and was pleased with the team's response, but felt they let themselves down in the closing stages. "I thought we started the second half okay, but poor Wayne - it is a mistake that has let them take the lead and then it makes it a difficult afternoon," McCarthy said. "But at 2-0 down I thought we were playing well and we got the penalty. "I'm annoyed we have let them off the hook the way we did with our game management at the end." Asked if he thought City are the team to beat, McCarthy said: "I would say so, yes, at the moment. I think they made that patently obvious when they beat United." Mancini only used Mario Balotelli - who had scored six goals in his previous five games, including a brace against United - as a second-half substitute, suggesting that he will start the Italian striker in Wednesday's Champions League fixture at Villarreal. Balotelli is available having completing a three-match European suspension and Mancini feels the 21-year-old could be a key figure to City's hopes of qualifying from Group A due to the experience he has of the competition from his time playing with Inter Milan. "I thought Sergio needed to play after his injury, and Dzeko played very well on Wednesday (in the cup game against Wolves), scoring two goals," Mancini said of his decision to start with Aguero and Dzeko up front yesterday. "With Mario, sometimes it is important that he gets rest - and also because we play again in a few days. "Mario has experience of the Champions League with Inter and I think he could be important against Villarreal. "It is important he recovers, even though he only played for 20 minutes."
