• What They Said

Mancini laments 'basketball' goal

Peter Crouch's goal had Roberto Mancini seeing red © PA Photos

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Reaction from players and managers from Saturday's Premier League games

Manchester City were held to a 1-1 draw with Stoke, but manager Roberto Mancini was far from happy with the Potters' goal.

There was a suspicion of handball in Peter Crouch's goal and Mancini said: "If we want to talk about their first goal we can, but it was not football it was basketball. I do not know how it was possible that where the referee was he did not see it was incredible. I did not see from the bench, but I have seen it now.

"The game was difficult, we know this every year, this time also because we came here after the international break."

Javi Garcia scored on debut, while Maicon also made his City bow, and Mancini was happy with their efforts. He said: "I am happy for Javi for the goal that he scored. Also for Maicon, it was difficult for them as they do not know their team-mates, but they did well."

Stoke boss Tony Pulis was happy with his side's effort and that they may have secured a slice of fortune. He said: "I haven't seen it, but if Peter has got away with it then brilliant. It is nice being a smaller club to get away with something against one of the bigger clubs. It is a great result for us. We are playing against one of the top teams in the world today. To get a result is a great achievement from the lads."

Arsenal continue to impress and Arsene Wenger was delighted with their romp over Southampton. He said: "I am very pleased. We had a very high level, combined with a high pace an always looked dangerous. But we were lucky as well as they conceded two own goals but overall I think our first half was top quality. We moved the ball at a high pace and we have many players who can do that. We have a good combination of running pace and passing pace."

Southampton breached the Arsenal defence for the first time this season and the manner of the goal irked Wenger. He said: It is disappointing., especially the way we conceded. You know you will concede goals but you don't want it to be the way we did it. But overall I still think the team performance was outstanding."

Manchester United thumped Wigan 4-0 and it would appear the players received the hairdryer treatment for a goalless first half. Sir Alex Ferguson said: "I thought we were far too slow in the first half, They were slowing the game down, the goalkeeper was taking a minute for every goal kick. It suited their style of play and they are a good team, but I don't think we played at the right pace in the first half.

"The second half we were far more aggressive in terms of getting to the ball, we played with far more speed and it made a difference. I made the point at half time that having the determination to improve was important.

"After last season we lost on goal difference and at the start of the season we said it won't happen again."

There was no handshake between Anton Ferdinand and John Terry © Getty Images

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QPR drew 0-0 with Chelsea, but the game was overshadowed by the lack of handshake between Anton Ferdinand. Mark Hughes claims not to have seen what went on, with his focus on the game: "I did not actually see what occurred, I was coming down the tunnel, so I did not see if he shook hands or not. I think the handshake was something everyone was trying to focus on. We certainly weren't, it was on the game and we were absolutely intent we had the right performance level.

"We had opportunities. I thought the way we played built on a good performance at Manchester City. We have come up against the European Champions today and performed well. For long periods we were in control of the game, we played with purpose and caused problems for them. We created chances and could have taken three points, but on the day we will take a point and move on. It is important the improvement in performance continues. I can see this side coming together all the time and the more games they play, it is only a matter of time before it all clicks."

Roberto Di Matteo felt both sides played in the right manner, but was far from happy at not getting a penalty. He said: "It was full of emotions and tackles and everything you expect of a derby game between two rivals. I thought both sets of players behaved professionally, showing a great attitude towards the game. It was a good spectacle for the people. Both teams set a good example of how the game should be played.

"Looking at the images, I think Nelsen on JT it is a clear-cut penalty. The other one, the referee had a good view. There is contract on Hazard but maybe he did not think enough contact. But the one on JT should have been a 100% one."

Paul Lambert hailed the debut of Aston Villa's £7 million newcomer Christian Benteke after he scored the second goal in the 2-0 home win over Swansea.

Lambert said: "I thought Christian was unplayable. He was an absolute threat. The great thing is he's only 21, only a kid and still learning. He has a really good game for the national team against Croatia in midweek and, if you're holding your own in that company, you're doing alright.

"Everything is a culture shock for him at the minute but he was excellent. The goal will give him confidence. The crowd will go with him. You heard the crowd's reaction when he came on.''

Swansea defender Ashley Williams was at fault with Benteke's goal which completed a nightmare week for the skipper after being part of the Wales team beaten 6-1 by Serbia.

Swans boss Michael Laudrup said: "Ashley is a super guy but he has had a very severe week. When you lose a club game, you always have the next one to recover. But when it is an international, at the start of a World Cup campaign, and you lose two games and one result is very savage, it hurts.

"Then four or days later you have to play a tough away game. I think he did well. Of course, it was a mistake at the end but, whether it was one-nil or two-nil, doesn't make a big difference.

"I said to him afterwards to now go and relax and I am sure knowing him he will come back after a couple of days with his family and have a huge game against Everton.''

Fulham boss Martin Jol sang the praises of Dimitar Berbatov following his starring role in the 3-0 victory over West Brom and is hopeful he can fill the goalscoring void left by the departure of Clint Dempsey.

"I think he did more than he has ever done before in his life,'' the Dutchman said. "He was at the back, he was in midfield, he was up-front and he scored a good goal so I was happy. We had a young bench and that is why I was so pleased with Dimitar. That is a challenge for him. I think he scored 23 goals when I had him at Spurs. I'm sure that if he is fit then he will do what Clint Dempsey did for us.''

West Brom head coach Steve Clarke tasted his first league defeat in charge of the Baggies and bemoaned their start to the game as the main reason behind the loss.

He said: "I was disappointed with the way we started the game. I thought we allowed Fulham to get too much control in the game, we started slowly and suffered for that because we lost a goal. The biggest disappointment in the first half was losing the second goal right on half-time.''

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce praised referee Chris Foy for making a crucial call in the goalless draw with Norwich at Carrow Road.

The home side appealed for a penalty towards the end of the first half when James Collins fouled Andrew Surman, but Foy correctly ruled the challenge was just outside the area. It was a close call and Allardyce appreciated Foy making the decision which denied Norwich a spot-kick and left them with a free-kick from which nothing came.

Asked if the referee deserved credit, Allardyce said on Sky Sports: "No doubt about that. Those decisions can make or break you. Chris has made a correct decision today and by the looks of it, where the player finished, he could easily have thought that was in the box. Luckily for us it was a major decision the referee got right and I'm really pleased about that.''

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