day of the season, thereby avoiding the need to participate in play-off round fixtures in order to progress to the group stages of the following season's Champions League competition. Only goal difference separated City from achieving a second-place finish over Chelsea. 2011–12 The club was quieter in the closed season transfer window than in previous years, with the club's spending of approximately £75 million more in line with the corresponding amounts spent by rivals Manchester United and Liverpool. £60 million of this sum was used to purchase two players: Sergio Agüero, for a club record fee, and Samir Nasri from Atlético Madrid and Arsenal respectively. Other players purchased during the summer included Gaël Clichy and Stefan Savić, while Owen Hargreaves joined on a free transfer after having been released by Manchester United. City began the Premier League season very strongly, winning 12 of their first 14 matches and scoring an impressive 48 goals while only conceding 13. These results left City undefeated and five points clear at the top of the league over second-placed Manchester United by the beginning of December. A revitalised Edin Džeko won the Premier League Player of the Month award for August 2011, and David Silva won the same award for September 2011. Many were impressed with the impact of Agüero and Nasri, which had given City an exciting, attacking verve. Mancini was also responsible for inflicting United's worst loss since 1955 when his City side won 6–1 away at Old Trafford. He was named Premier League Manager of the Month as a result of City's strong form in the month of October. City maintained the lead in the Premier League over the next five months but struggled in the Champions League in a group that involved Bayern Munich, Napoli and Villarreal. City failed to progress, but finished third in the group with ten points, normally enough to guarantee qualification into the knock-out stages. A 3–2 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup third round on 8 January 2012 was bittersweet. City had Vincent Kompany controversially sent-off in the sixth minute and United managed to create a 3–0 lead before half-time against a lacklustre and beleaguered City team. However, after numerous tactical changes from Mancini at half-time, City came out fighting with ten men, a renewed version of the team that had played in the first half. Two goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Sergio Agüero