UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Group A Manchester City 2 Villarreal 1:MANCHESTER CITY may not have commanded the night, but there is a special joy in a win wrenched from Villarreal in stoppage time. Anything less would have made it unlikely Roberto Mancini's team could advance to the knockout phase.

That prospect is fully alive now and the goal was also applauded for its cool construction at a desperate moment.

The substitute James Milner took the opponents by surprise when finding Pablo Zabaleta on the right and his low ball was tucked away by Sergio Aguero, another substitute.

City have craved Champions League football, but that anticipation has been matched by the trials encountered so far on their own pitch. Just as in the Napoli match it was the visitors who struck first.

While the hosts take credit for pulling level with an own goal that was partly forced on Villarreal by the pressure applied, this was far from the vision Mancini would have had of dictating terms to Villarreal.

It is impossible to ignore the means at City’s disposal. Aguero, affected by a groin strain, was among the substitutes, but the team sheet did not suggest the opposition were being spared to any great degree.

Villarreal were ahead in the fourth minute. David Silva, a strong candidate for the title of most gifted player on City’s books, lost possession cheaply and, with Nigel de Jong unable to snuff out the danger, Giuseppe Rossi hit a testing drive and when Joe Hart parried it into the centre of the goalmouth, Cani was present to turn the ball into the net.

In the remainder of the first half City gradually took command. Indeed Mancini’s decision to bring on Gareth Barry for Adam Johnson gave the impression that he saw patience and possession as the keys to recovery. When City equalised, though, there was an arbitrary tone to the goal. Samir Nasri found Kolarov on the left and the low ball was turned into his own net by Carlos Marchena.

It can seem City are so rich that the world, including an opposition defender, must be obliged to do their bidding. That, however, will not be how it is seen within the club. Indeed anyone glancing at the fixture list in this tournament will appreciate how significant this game truly was. After all the next two Champions League matches are away fixtures, at Villarreal and Napoli.

There might not be much respite at the close of the group either, when Bayern Munich come to Eastlands. City had an urgent need to make their ability tell in this match. If City are a far more adventurous side now it is also because they cannot run the risk of passivity when they are expected, after so much investment, to be in charge of their own prospects.

The stress might be felt doubly by Mancini since the manager’s record in European football with Internazionale was indifferent. He has never got beyond the quarter-finals of the Champions League and, as chance would have it, was knocked out by Villarreal on the away-goals rule in 2006. The natural retort to any scepticism at present must lie in the fact the means at his disposal are greater than he has ever known before.

In the early exchanges after the interval, City did seem to impose themselves and the goalkeeper Diego Lopez had to turn behind an effort from Edin Dzeko in the 48th minute following Pablo Zabaleta’s low cross. Even so, Villarreal’s reaction to stress was still to apply more of their own, Hart was soon having to outdo Lopez by putting a shot from Rossi round the post.

The factor underlying the match was the conviction of the visitors that they could get the better of City’s back four. Despite the sums expended, the defence does not convince fully in contests of this nature. Villarreal, for their part, had scant doubt about a status that has them just three points behind the leaders, Barcelona, in La Liga.

City were being compelled to react and Mancini brought on an attacker in Aguero for the defensive midfielder De Jong. This appeared a critical moment for Mancini, but the match itself had an inconsequential tone when many passes were routine and audacity was missing entirely for periods.

“I said before the game it was important to win and I think we deserved to because we had a lot of chances to score,” Mancini said afterwards. “But Villarreal were very dangerous on the counter-attack because they play football very well.” On Aguero’s winner, the Italian continued: “It was an important goal because it is now open for first place (in the group). When you play in the Champions League for the first time you need to improve game after game. I think after this game we can do better.”

City captain Vincent Kompany hailed the victory as “totally deserved”. He said: “We’re happy, maybe we’re going to carry on doing these sort of things this season . . . Villarreal have been in it (the competition) much more than us – so it makes it a beautiful night.”

Guardian Service

MANCHESTER CITY:Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov, De Jong (Aguero 62), Toure Yaya, Johnson (Barry 40), Silva, Nasri (Milner 81), Dzeko. Subs not used: Pantilimon, Richards, Savic, Clichy.

VILLARREAL: Diego Lopez, Zapata, Marchena, Rodriguez, Catala, Valero, Bruno, Perez (Wakaso 80), De Guzman (Gullon 88), Cani (Mario 82), Rossi. Subs not used: Cesar, Musacchio, Bordas, Joselu. Booked: Catala, Rossi, Mario.

Referee: Pavel Kralovec(Czech Republic)