Mancini: Hart gave us an undeserved point

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

Dortmund were held by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium despite dominating proceedings from start to finish but were denied an invaluable three points by Hart, who made a string of world-class saves, and a harsh last-minute penalty for a Neven Subotic handball.

Mancini conceded that his side were clearly second best in the night and demanded improvement if they are to have any hope of qualifying in the tough group. which also includes Ajax and Real Madrid.

"We didn't deserve to get this point but in the end it could be important. Borussia Dortmund played better than us," Mancini said after the match, "If we want to play at the top level in the Champions League, we need more than tonight. We need to fight; it's not enough to have good quality.

The Italian manager is not panicking despite the poor showing from his side, claiming that he has everything under control and will improve quickly.

"Today we deserved to concede three or four goals as we didn't play well. At this moment they are probably a better team than us. We are making a lot of mistakes which is very strange for us. I know the problem and I will resolve it very quickly."

"Joe [Hart] saved us this evening. He did very, very well. If we don't improve, [qualification] is difficult. This point could be important in this group.

Watch: Balotelli penalty rescues Man City... More Videos

Manchester City's controversial last-gasp goal came from a penalty awarded by referee Pavel Kralovec for a handball when Sergio Aguero's point-blank shot came off Subotic's hand - a decision that the Serbain defender felt was harsh.

"Never. Not a chance," he told Sky Sports, "He shoots from half a yard and I just have my hand. I've just seen the pictures, but obviously I have a hand, I can't cut it off and he hits it.

"I think it's clear to see in the pictures that I wasn't trying to get to the ball because I didn't have time to react. Therefore, it was never in my life a penalty."

"I am a little bit annoyed about this result, even though City deserved a draw as well. They had great chances, but Roman Weidenfeller made some terrific saves. You cannot keep out the incredible talent of Manchester City for 90 minutes. 

"We had some huge opportunities, though, and took a 1-0 lead through a somewhat planned manoeuvre. We wanted to put them under pressure and Marco Reus was able to execute with his great pace.

Given that Dortmund finished bottom of their group in the same stage last season, Klopp believes that the performance was a huge improvement for his side.

"We had them pinned down, so of course you'd like to take the three points in that case. We had countless chances, despite being the away team. However, we can build on this performance, as we were very disciplined tactically. It was a big step forward for us."

Dortmund will now face a stern test in the next round of fixtures when they host Real Madrid, who have won both their games so far while City will be hoping to record their first win as they travel to face point-less Ajax.