Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini has explained why he left Gareth Barry on the bench for last night's win at Wigan Athletic.

Mancini said he wanted to give the England international some much-needed rest with one eye on the closing stages to the season.

He told City's website: "We rested Barry, he has played a lot this season and he needed rest with seven important games coming up. Pablo (Zabaleta) and Nigel (de Jong) were close to getting suspensions before tonight, so it was important to rest Gareth with that in mind."