Premier League

August 29, 2010

Full-time

Sunderland

1 - 0

Manchester City

Premier League

15:00 BST, August 29, 2010

Stadium of Light, England

Referee: Mike Dean

Bent on the spot again

Scoring Summary

Sunderland Manchester City
Darren Bent (pen 90') 

Darren Bent's injury-time penalty condemned Manchester City to their first defeat of the season as a glaring miss left Carlos Tevez red-faced.

• Mancini philosophical after late loss
• Blog: What a difference a goal makes...

The Sunderland striker converted the spot-kick in the fourth minute of added time to snatch all three points after being hauled down by Micah Richards in front of goal.

Bent's strike was the Black Cats' reward for a concerted second-half fightback after Tevez had let them off the hook with an astonishing early miss.

The Argentinian fired high over an open goal after being played in by Yaya Toure, and the visitors were made to pay as the points slipped away.

Roberto Mancini's side dominated before the break, but were unable to take advantage, and the home side made the most of their opportunity despite losing striker Fraizer Campbell with what looked like a serious injury.

That brought greater urgency to Steve Bruce's pursuit of Ghana international striker Asamoah Gyan ahead of the transfer deadline, although he was able to comfort himself with a spirited display by his team.

However, it took a fine late save by keeper Simon Mignolet from substitute Emmanuel Adebayor to give Bent his big chance in front of a crowd of 38,610.

Mancini sent out a team which cost around £180million to assemble and was able to name seven men on the bench valued at around half that amount.

Bruce's starting XI cost less than half the figure paid out for the visitors' substitutes, a measure of the gulf between the relative spending powers of the two clubs.

Predictably, it was City who dominated the opening 45 minutes with their pace and movement and in particular, the guile of the hugely impressive Yaya Toure, repeatedly stretching the Wearsiders.

However, a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping meant the Black Cats went in at the break with their clean sheet intact, and that would have been pleasing for Bruce after a sub-standard display in defeat at West Brom last weekend.

That said, just how City were not in front is something Tevez would have had to explain to his manager at the break after a glaring 16th-minute miss.

The visitors looked certain to score when Yaya Toure charged down Kieran Richardson's shot and then set off on a powerhouse run upfield which left the full-back and Lee Cattermole trailing in his wake.

He might have passed early, but instead drew Mignolet before squaring for Tevez.

The Argentinian had the goal at his mercy, but contrived to scoop his shot high over the bar.

Tevez might have made amends 13 minutes later after latching on to Richardson's misplaced pass, but Michael Turner did just enough to deflect the ball wide.

But it took a fine save from Mignolet at the death to deny Yaya Toure after James Milner's free-kick was allowed to reach him unmarked at the far post.

For their part, Sunderland, who spent much of the half working desperately hard to close the visitors down, created little with Bent glancing an early header wide and Jordan Henderson shooting just off target from distance.

However, the half ended in worrying fashion with Campbell following his team-mates into the dressing room on a stretcher after a tangle of legs with Richards.

Bruce was forced into a reshuffle at the break with Campbell unable to continue and Turner failing to re-appear, Danny Welbeck and Phil Bardsley taking their places.

However, it was his side which resumed with the greater endeavour to remind City they were not going to have things all their own way.

The game was becoming increasingly open and the focus was very much on Hart's goal.

He had to punch clear as Bent rounded on Vincent Kompany's mistimed defensive header, and he then clawed Ahmed Elmohamady's wind-assisted cross clear as it threatened to sneak in at his near post.

For the first time in the game, the visitors were coming under sustained pressure, and Welbeck slashed wildly over with 68 minutes gone.

The impetus was very much with the Black Cats, but Mignolet had to pull off a superb reaction save to deny Adebayor a 79th-minute winner after Richards had headed Milner's corner back across goal.

But the drama came right at the death and when referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot after Richards had prevented Bent from reaching Elmohamady's cross, the striker made no mistake as City conceded for the first time this season.

  • Mancini philosophical after late loss

    Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was left to reflect on missed chances as his side slipped to its first defeat of the season at Sunderland.

    Mancini said: "Football is very strange. We played fantastic football in the first half, we had three or four very good chances, but if you don't score, sometimes you can lose these games. We had the chance with Carlos, but we had another three or four situations where we could have scored a goal in the first half.

    "But that's football. If you don't score a goal when you have these situations, maybe you can lose because every game is difficult and you must play until the last second."

    The game was deep into injury-time when Bent was hauled down by Micah Richards as he tried to meet Ahmed Elmohamady's right-wing cross, and referee Mike Dean pointed straight to the spot.

    Bent was the calmest man in the stadium as he scuffed his penalty past Joe Hart to claim a famous victory, Sunderland's first over City in the top flight in almost 10 years.

    Manager Steve Bruce said: "I'm delighted. It was a great performance from us. I have just said to my assistant, 'Is that the same team that played last week?', which is the problem.

    "Today every one of them stuck at it, did their jobs properly. Of course, we rode our luck a little bit with the Tevez miss - I don't think he will ever miss a chance like that again - but we are due some.

    "I think it's eight times we have conceded in the last couple of minutes, so it's nice to get one at the death for us for a change."

    However, the gloss was taken off the win by Campbell's injury, which Bruce fears could sideline him for several months.

    He said: "If there's a bad point, that is it because it looks as if he has damaged his knee ligaments. We hope it's not as serious as we fear, but it doesn't look good.

    "With that, it's imperative that we try to bring a body in because we are a bit short there and if he is going to be missing for the next couple of months, which could be the situation, then we need to act if we possibly can."

    Bruce, who has a long-standing interest in Ghana striker Asamoah Gyan, is also keen on Wigan's £9 million-rated midfielder Charles N'Zogbia, but only at the right price.

    He said: "I'm a big admirer of him, but that sort of money might be too rich."

    Meanwhile, Mancini revealed he is awaiting developments during the remaining days of the transfer window with Fulham having been strongly linked with keeper Shay Given and Roque Santa Cruz and Robinho also attracting interest.

    Mancini said: "I hope Shay can stay here. I spoke with Roque two days ago and he told me he had two or three situations, and Robinho the same. But we must wait until Tuesday."

    Asked if there are offers on the table, the Italian replied: "For Roque and Robinho, yes, but I don't know if they will remain with me."