Wigan 2 City 1

One of the areas which we fell down on (particularly over the second half) last season was going to places where we went to what was classed 'on paper' as a lesser side, and came away with either a draw or defeat.

Despite a change in management since then, on the basis of yesterday (plus the Carling Cup defeat) we appear no nearer to solving this problem.

Although possessing a pacy and fluid looking attacking line-up, it was Wigan who outperformed us in the respect with Palacios and Valenica providing energetic support to the excellent front pairing of Heskey, and particularly Zaki, who gave Dunne and Richards a particularly unpleasant afternoon.

It is our defence that is causing concern for me, as although we have notched clean sheets, we do have a propensity to leak goals and the solid axis of Richards and Dunne is struggling to get back to the levels seen this time last year whilst Garrido continues to struggle. A plus point at the back was Zabaleta though, proving why Hughes rated him so highly and was prepared to let Corluka go.

Once we went 2-1 down, we struggled to really impose ourselves on the game, with key players being drawn out of position and unable to find the right ball when it mattered, against a side that were impressive, although it has to be said benefited from the best of the refereeing decisions.

Theatrcial fall aside, I am inclined to agree with Jack in believing it probably was a penalty - with the almost comical leap probably detracting from serious debate about the merits of the award, but if there is enough doubt present when forced to make a decision, the referee should not have made that decision.

It perhaps was a test yesterday, as looking at the results from the weekend, the likes of West Ham, Liverpool and Chelsea all had tricky looking fixtures, but came away with three points - something we are not doing at the moment and a worry further down the season - especially when we are coming off the back of midweek games.

Something for Mark Hughes to definitely ponder as we really start to get into the season now.

Reports

Wigan overcame Manchester City in a pulsating game at the JJB Stadium which saw yet another controversial penalty. >>bbc sport.

The winners were bound to be a cosmopolitan group of capable footballers, no matter which team had the better of it. There should no longer be much surprise that it is Wigan who take the points in a game of this sort. >>guardian.co.uk.

Overwhelming winners against Portsmouth a week ago and brought back to earth by Brighton in the Carling Cup, City were reminded that any side with top-four ambitions need to take on opponents as physical as Wigan and not come away empty-handed. >>independent.co.uk

At times here, Robinho resembled a little boy who had strayed into an international track and field meet. Whenever the lithe Brazilian tried to join in the races, he was almost run over by athletic Hondurans, Ecuadorians, Egyptians and Englishmen in blue and white stripes. Robinho did not need to be told he was playing Wigan Athletic. >>telegraph.co.uk

guardian minute by minute report