Roberto Mancini is no stranger to a dramatic finish. He was, after all, manager of Manchester City when Sergio Aguero scored his famous stoppage-time winner to seal the Premier League title in 2012. So as Ali Al Bulayhi scored in the sixth minute of added on time and Saudi Arabia came back to beat Oman 2-1 in the Asian Cup on Tuesday, it was straight out of Mancini's playbook.
“It is different. It is a different tournament, different team, different players,” the Saudi Arabia coach said afterward.
Maybe so, but the celebrations it sparked inside the Khalifa International Stadium underlined what it meant to his players and the fans — even if it was only his team's opening game in Group F. “We have to improve, but we did very well,” he said.
