SOCCER/Manchester City - 1 Chelsea - 0: Those Manchester City supporters who took pleasure in mimicking Jose Mourinho's frantic gesticulations during long spells of the second half here would equally have relished the rather pathetic sight, an hour after the final whistle, of Peter Kenyon rushing to hold the door open for Roman Abramovich as they made their exit, much as Lynn used to for Alan Partridge. Next thing, Kenyon will be buffing up the Russian's brogues

Abramovich had the ruffled, slightly bewildered look of a man being escorted from the premises of a late-night casino. Chelsea's shortcomings had just been brutally exposed and he was entitled to be perplexed by Mourinho's complaint that his squad did not offer "many options".

It was an odd claim but it should also be pointed out that Mourinho just about managed to combine defeat with dignity. True, there were sporadic outbursts of finger-pointing and he somehow had the gall to complain about the decisive penalty.

Yet, all in all, he was far more decorous than regular Mourinho-watchers might have imagined. He even strode on to the pitch to shake the hands of the victorious Manchester City players and in his post-match briefings made a point of identifying Sylvain Distin and Richard Dunne for special acclaim.

He might have extended the kind words to take in Danny Mills and Ben Thatcher because this was a victory for City that stemmed from the robustness of their entire back line.

Kevin Keegan has had to grow wearily accustomed to the accusation that his teams cannot defend and, given the backdrop of scepticism that usually accompanies both club and manager, he should cherish the fact they have conceded only seven goals in their opening nine league fixtures.

"If I'm not careful I'm going to get a reputation," said Keegan. "We're looking meaner in defence than I can ever remember and, for me, we still have England's best goalkeeper in David James. I've never had a side that concedes fewer goals."

Their resilience was epitomised by Dunne and Distin, two central defenders who have convinced only sporadically in the past, and the acquisition of Mills and Thatcher has brought some solidity to the full-back positions.

The most disappointing aspect for Mourinho was the fact that once Nicolas Anelka had scored from the penalty spot the expected onslaught of the home goal never materialised.

City hustled and harried but created chances themselves, while their opponents could reflect upon little else but Frank Lampard hitting the post and Eidur Gudjohnsen's late miss.

Unintentionally, Gudjohnsen not only spared City but saved the referee Howard Webb from a full inquest into his decision not to send off Paulo Ferreira for giving away the penalty, bundling over Anelka as he chased Paul Bosvelt's long punt. The only possible mitigating factor was that Webb did not believe Anelka capable of reaching the ball. In which case he might have underestimated the Frenchman's pace.

Ultimately, the fact City held off their opponents meant it was only a subplot but it could easily have provided the main storyline and Keegan was scathing in his criticisms of the "rookie" Webb.

"If it had been at Stamford Bridge our player would have been off," he said. "That's why we get annoyed; not because we want to see players sent off."

City being City, there had to be at least one downside and their celebrations were cut short by the news that Sun Jihai had ruptured medial and cruciate ligaments in his left knee in challenging Gudjohnsen shortly before half-time. He will be out for a minimum of eight months, by which time his contract will have expired.

"I'll be distraught if the board don't show the compassion to offer a new deal," said Keegan.

That apart, however, this was the type of day that City's supporters must wish they could experience more regularly. They could even afford to stop booing Webb in the second half and take to aping Mourinho's hand signals.

Chelsea did not look championship material, or anything close, and it does not reflect well on their manager that his touchline antics were more entertaining than anything conjured up by his players.