Premiership Title Slipping But City's Mario and Kolarov Have Personal Feud

"Super" Mario Balotelli is always an accident waiting to happen. I thought that he had matured quite a bit this season. Unfortunately the talented Italian is still a ticking timebomb on the football pitch. Much of his goalscoring genius stems from that right-brain thinking which also courts disaster by the busloads.

Against Sunderland, Balo once more showed his madness and his genius in equal measure. With City 3-1 down, he chose to get into a childish argument with Kolarov over who should take a freekick.

As though to prove a point to both City and Kolarov, Balotelli went on a run at the edge of the Sunderland box and curled a shot past Mignolet. The curious thing was that the shot took place in roughly the same area as the disputed freekick. Coincidence? With Balotelli, I doubt it. I am sure the Italian wanted to prove a point.

I guess Kolarov sensed that as well. Because as City continued to push forward to level the game, the highly rated Serbian latched onto a Pizarro pass and fizzed a shot past a sea of Sunderland players and into the net. Kolarov must have taken special care to wait till the ball dropped into the exact same spot as the freekick to let fly. Kinda felt as though Kolarov was sticking two fingers up to Mario Balotelli, doesn't it?

With the unexpected 3-3 draw at The Etihad, it is unlikely that Manchester City will lift the Premier League title come May. The Citizens are fading at exactly the wrong time of the season. Unfortunately, Mancini and City must rely on the excellence of Balotelli rather than the tantrums of Balotelli. Edin Dzeko's form has stagnated since the new year, Aguero's injury is a concern and Tevez' return has been a damp squib, City have only the temperamental Italian to count on.

The title is slipping away, and Roberto Mancini is fuming....