Mancini laments Balotelli's absence
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini believes a lack of goals and maverick striker Mario Balotelli's departure to AC Milan in January has harmed the defence of their Premier League crown, SI.com reported.
Second-placed City are 15 points behind rivals Manchester United, whom they face at Old Trafford on Monday, and Mancini said last week the title race was over.
"Mario scored 15 goals last season. This is the difference, the goals we did not score," Mancini told a news conference on Friday.
"We concede the same, we have the best defence, we are missing only these goals. We had a lot of injuries, we lost Sergio, we lost Mario," he added in reference to Aguero, who missed the first month of the season and has sustained further knocks.