كتب : Hatem Maher
The Nerazzurri hang on in the dying seconds and foiled a dream comeback by Milan to grab a thrilling 4-3 victory in the derby on Saturday.
Italian international defender Materazzi turned from hero to villain when he was handed his second booking just seconds after scoring Inter's fourth goal for pulling his shirt over his head in celebration.
"We dominated the game while it was eleven against eleven," Mancini was quoted as saying by Inter.it after the match.
"Then Marco was sent off and Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a few problems and (Patrick) Vieira had hurt a foot, and we could only make one change."
Even with a three-goal lead, Inter couldn't bear the numerical disadvantage and received two goals from Alberto Gilardino and Kaka, remaining in the five-minute added time hanging by a thread.
Though, Mancini was satisfied with what his men have done in to maintain the triumph.
"I saw a lot of positive things this evening; I'm very pleased. Until the sending-off the team had done very well and there was no contest," he said.
"Unfortunately a few incidents can change games. We should be happy we won."
On the other hand, Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti refused to concede title defeat, preferring to see the positives from the game.
"Materazzi's sending-off may have helped us but in the final thirty minutes we put them under great pressure and could have drawn," Ancelotti told a press conference after the match.
"Milan are not inferior to Inter and can still have their say. There are still a lot of games to play."