Manchester City can look back to the season that just finished with a great degree of satisfaction that they finally delivered and are definitely on the way up to bigger and better things. The summer brought another huge spending spree as Roberto Mancini embarked on the task of securing Champions League football and an early 3:0 victory over Liverpool sent a message to the rest of the league. The team was playing some lovely football at times but still lacked the consistency to really challenge for the top spot. Yet, they were looking really solid at the back for most of the games and secured a narrow 1:0 win over Chelsea in September that made them believe anything is possible this season. But there was too much caution at times with only Carlos Tevez left to provide the sparkle up front. A few poor results in November increased the pressure and a 2:1 loss at home to Everton before Christmas made people question Mancini. However, he stuck to his principles and the team remained well placed to finish in the top four at the end of the season. At times they actually had the chance to really put themselves into the frame for the title but a 2:1 loss away to Manchester United in February ended any such hopes. The squad was struggling with injuries and fatigue by the huge number of games by March and a European exit at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv was followed by defeats at Chelsea and Liverpool. Yet, just at that moment when things were getting bad for Mancini, the side pulled together and secured a momentous 1:0 win in the FA Cup against big rivals Manchester United. They eventually beat Stoke in the final to end a 35-year trophy drought before a strong finish of the season secured them the third place as well, thus avoiding the need of playing a Champions League play-off. It was the best possible ending to the season for Mancini who was vindicated for taking the safe option more often than not and now another busy summer is expected at Eastlands with everyone around the club talking boldly about a title challenge.
