Fancy (dress) that! Man City squad put Chelsea defeat behind them at Christmas party



Have you heard the one about Batman, Darth Vader and Where's Wally? Neither had we u ntil Manchester City's Christmas part y.



You would have thought celebrating was the last thing City players would want after the 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.



But that's exactly what the festive feeling City squad did… in a hilarious array of fancy dress outfits.



Party time! Barry arrives as Where's Wally and Hargreaves dons Batman's cape

Letting his hair down: Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne - aka Wayne Bridge - was there to enjoy the celebrations



The team put the Stamford Bridge defeat – which has thrown the Barclays Premier League title race wide open – behind them by partying the night away at a trendy London nightclub until the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The guestlist read like a who's who of the TV/Cartoon/film world. Attendees included: Avatar, The Mask, Kermit the Frog, Iron Man, a Roman Centurion, a pirate and, well, you get the picture.



Mario Balotelli bagged City's solitary strike on a wet and windy night in west London and arrived later at the party dressed as a Wild West bandit.



Stick 'em up! Balotelli's bandit outfit was a poor effort compared to some of his team-mates

The natty waistcoat and bandana covering his face would suggest he's been spending his days off catching up on Clint Eastwood's back catalogue.

City boss Roberto Mancini was nowhere to be seen as the players partied at Anaya nightclub in Mayfair and a number of his star players look like they will be nursing headaches this morning.



Balotelli was joined by Samir Nasri, Yaya and Kolo Toure, Joe Hart, Sergio Aguero, Owen Hargreaves, Pablo Zabaleta and Nigel de Jong.



Festive cheer: Aguero arrives as Harry Potter and De Jong is The A-Team's Mr T

City's unbeaten record this season came to an end after Andre Villas-Boas' side battled back from a goal down to win 2-1.

Frank Lampard made no mistake form the penalty spot after Joleon Lescott handled to concede the second-half penalty which sealed the match.



It remains unclear if Lescott turned up at the event dressed as the joker.

One person not on the guestlist was Chelsea's Ashley Cole.



Hollywood glitz! Gael Clichy made an appearance in the guise of a character from Avatar as did Edin Dzeko as Darth Vader

Cole was accused of sparking a tunnel skirmish on a highly charged night at Stamford Bridge.

Cole hurled an X-rated and aggressive 'Have that!' comment towards the visitors' dressing room, provoking an angry response from City's players after the final whistle. Going commando! Micah Richards in full army fatigues and Joleon Lescott - in the guise of Iron Man - made an appearance, too

Hart of the matter: The City keeper paid close attention to detail on his NFL outfit as he arrived as his alter-ego 'Hartdog' (below)





