Improve Set Piece Defending Roberto Mancini Tells Manchester City Players

Monday, 24th September, 2012

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes his side must improve their defending of set pieces after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Arsenal.

The Citizens had taken the lead in the match through Joleon Lescott in the first half, but in the 82nd minute, Arsenal whipped in a corner which Mancini’s men failed to clear. The ball dropped to Gunners defender Laurent Koscielny, who drove it into the back of the net.

relatedNewsStory A point was rescued for Arsenal, but Mancini was left cursing his side’s set piece defending, which had resulted in two points dropped.

Now the Italian is sure it is a problem he must address.

"I think we need to improve our defending at set-pieces because this has been a problem for us this season", Mancini told Manchester City’s official site.

"We can do better and we need to work on this area", he added.

"We are finding it hard not to concede at the moment and we are probably two points worse off than we should be so far this season."

But Mancini is hopeful that his side’s defending will improve, stressing "I’m frustrated and the players are frustrated but we will get things right, I’m sure."

Next up for the Citizens is a break from Premier League action with a visit from Aston Villa in the League Cup.

After that, Mancini takes his men south to the capital on Saturday, with a trip to Fulham on the agenda.