Manchester City beat Middlesbrough 1-0 in English Premiership

Richard Dunne scored a first-half goal to steer Manchester City to a 1-0 Premiership win at home over Middlesbrough on Monday.

The City skipper rose to head in Joey Barton's corner in the 24th minute to lift the pressure on boss Stuart Pearce, whose side has not savoured win over three games.

Boro substitute Massimo Maccarone hit the post twice late on but City held on for a welcome win.

They did so in front of a crowd of 36,720, the lowest for a City Premiership home game since they left Maine Road in 2003.

Those who opted to stay at home will not be regretting their decision after this uninspiring affair.

Before the game, Pearce had hit out at the "farcical" pressure on Premiership managers following a week in which he had come under fire for City's 4-0 defeat at Wigan.

Boro desperately needed to improve after the break, and they did - if only slightly.

However, with Yakubu and Jason Euell struggling to form a cohesive partnership up front, the visitors were always looking to pick up scraps.

Source: Xinhua