LIFE is a rollercoaster for Manchester City. Two weeks after beating Arsenal 1-0, they lost to Reading, the Barclays Premiership new boys, by the same scoreline.

City’s woes at the Madejski Stadium last night were compounded when Ousmane Dabo, their French midfield player, was sent off — somewhat harshly — in the 80th minute. He led with an arm as he jumped with Steve Sidwell and, although he appeared to make contact with Sidwell’s face with a wrist only, he was shown a straight red card.

The last thing that Stuart Pearce, the City manager, needs is more ill-discipline. Ben Thatcher is halfway through a four-match club suspension for his elbowed assault on Pedro Mendes, the Portsmouth midfield player, and Micah Richards, the right back, hurled his jersey to the floor when substituted last night.

Pearce, as always, did not avoid the issues. “I’ve only seen the sending-off once live,” he said, “but if the referee deems it a red card, I will go with that. Both TV and the player seem to think it was harsh and if, after I’ve seen it again, I think I need to talk to the powers that be, I will.

“With Micah, I was disappointed. I’ve had a chat with him and will have another. It is my job to educate him in how to behave himself, to educate him as a player and as a person. He’s a young man learning all the time and he’s got a good future in front of him as long as he keeps learning.”

For Reading, there was nothing but delight. A second successive home win this season — extending their unbeaten home record to 29 matches in all competitions — illustrated their ability to compete at the highest level for the first time. Though they rode their luck at times, Reading could have doubled or trebled the winning margin near the end. Kevin Doyle, twice, and Brynjar Gunnarsson went close.

Rarely one to get excited, Steve Coppell, the Reading manager, played down the significance of being in eighth place in the Premiership at such an early stage in the season. “It was encouraging,” he said. “Our target during the summer was to compete at this level and we’ve shown that we can do that. But we have to sustain it. It’s a long campaign and it’s going to be a constant, game-by-game challenge.”

Fifteen minutes had passed before Reading made a penetrative attack, Leroy Lita bewitching Richard Dunne and, with Doyle, causing havoc in the City penalty area. Only after the ball had ricocheted off a number of bodies was it hacked to safety. If it was a warning sign, City did not heed it, with Reading going ahead in the 23rd minute.

Graeme Murty, the Reading captain, could claim a large slice of the credit, making a last-ditch tackle to deny Bernardo Corradi a goalscoring chance. After the ball had been switched to the other end, Sylvain Distin fouled Lita and then Ivar Ingimarsson, brushing off Richards, thundered in a far-post header from Bobby Convey’s inswinging free kick.

It was only Ingimarsson’s third goal in 20 months but he knew little about it, having picked up a blow on the head as he dived forward. As he received treatment on the ground, he said to Howard Webb, the referee: “Where did the ball go?”

City dominated much of the second half but barely tested Marcus Hahnemann, the Reading goalkeeper. Once Dabo had been dismissed, it was all they could do to hang in the frantic closing stages. Reading, a man to the good, were rampant.

Perhaps it was just as well. Picking up three points in their next four home matches — against Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur — might prove something of a problem. Welcome to the big league.

READING (4-4-2): M Hahnemann — G Murty, I Sonko, I Ingimarsson, N Shorey — Seol Ki Hyeon (sub: B Gunnarsson, 77min), S Sidwell, J Harper, R Convey — L Lita (sub: S Long, 75), K Doyle. Substitutes not used: G Little, S Hunt, G Stack.

MANCHESTER CITY (4-4-2): N Weaver — M Richards, R Dunne, S Distin, S Jordan — T Sinclair, O Dabo, J Barton, C Reyna (sub: I Miller, 73) — B Corradi, P Dickov (sub: G Samaras, 60). Substitutes not used: J Hart, H Trabelsi, D Hamann. Booked: Distin, Reyna, Sinclair, Barton. Sent off: Dabo.

Referee: H Webb.