Al Habsi gifts Silva winner

A blunder by Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi gifted Man City victory to consolidate their third place standing.

Wigan keeper lets Silva shot in to give City vital three points

A blunder by Wigan keeper Ali Al Habsi gifted Manchester City victory at Eastlands to consolidate their third place standing in the Premier League. David Silva decided the North West derby on 38 minutes when his shot was let in through the hands of the Wigan keeper. The Latics were the better team after the break and Antolin Alcarez hit the post before substitute Conor Sammon shot just wide in injury time. The result puts Roberto Mancini's side five points clear of fourth placed Chelsea, while Roberto Martinez's rock-bottom team are four points adrift of safety. The victory also allowed City to profit from Arsenal's failure to beat Sunderland and close to within four points of the second-placed Gunners. City defender Kolo Toure watched the game from the stands following confirmation of a failed drugs test this week. Immediately before the game, Mancini confirmed Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger's view that Toure's mental state was "not great". City officials had not expected the 29-year-old to be in attendance to watch his team-mates in action but Toure was there, although any enjoyment could surely only have been partial.

Spotlight

At least he was not the only person under the spotlight. As he contemplated his own blunder, Al Habsi must have felt equally alone. After all, rock-bottom Wigan had performed superbly up to the point in the 38th minute when Silva skipped past Adrian Lopez, who chose just the wrong time to slip, and burst into the box. The Spain star's shot was accurate but lacked power but that did not matter as Al Habsi inexplicably allowed the ball to squirm from his grasp and trundle over the line, leaving the Oman international to hold his head in his hands in agony. Although City had enjoyed plenty of possession, they had only created one other chance, when Mario Balotelli cut in from the left flank in the opening minutes. On that occasion, Al Habsi performed more in keeping with his general standards since arriving on loan from Bolton, making a good save. Apart from that, Wigan were virtually foot perfect, although James McCarthy missed from ten yards while in plenty of space after Vincent Kompany's weak clearance rolled straight to him. City gave up a half-time lead right after the re-start against Fulham on Sunday and nearly did exactly the same again. Alcaraz crept into space to meet Ben Watson's corner at the near post, flicking the ball over Pablo Zabaleta and onto the post.

Sense problem

The home supporters were starting to sense a problem when McCarthy let fly with a fizzing half-volley from outside the box that brought an excellent save out of Joe Hart. Alcaraz burst the full length of the field after robbing Yaya Toure, which was not only an indication of Wigan's growing confidence but also the space they were being afforded. But the Latics consistent failing this season has been their inability to score and this game represented the 11th time this term they have failed to find the net - a failing that is going to get them relegated if they do not rectify it quickly. Substitute Charles N'Zogbia was not able to as he sent a 20-yard shot flying over the bar. If there was precious little else for City's supporters to cheer, they could at least herald the return of combative midfielder Nigel de Jong from an ankle injury seven minutes from time. Substitute Sammon then had a great chance of claiming the point Wigan deserved when he was sent through by Hugo Rodallega deep into injury time. But his shot rolled agonisingly wide of the far post to leave Latics boss Martinez cursing his luck once more.

Manchester City	Team Statistics	Wigan Athletic
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
2	Shots on Target	2
2	Shots off Target	8
3	Blocked Shots	3
4	Corners	6
18	Fouls	9
1	Offsides	3
3	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
81.4	Passing Success	79.5
22	Tackles	34
77.3	Tackles Success	91.2
50.3	Possession	49.7
57.4	Territorial Advantage	42.6