Roberto Mancini admits Manchester City need to be more ruthless after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw against Everton ahead of next weekend's crucial showdown with arch rivals Manchester United. Mancini will take his City team to Germany in midweek for a final Champions League qualifying group game against Borussia Dortmund where even victory will not dull the edge of another early exit from Europe's elite competition.
But Mancini and his players are already focused on the first Manchester derby of the season when Premier League leaders United visit Eastlands next Sunday with a three-point lead over second placed City.
Mancini accepts City are not firing on all cylinders and that was clear again on Saturday as Everton were prevented from leaving with a surprise win only by a Carlos Tevez penalty equaliser that Toffees manager David Moyes strongly disputed. "We played very well at Chelsea and didn't win, we played well in the second half at Wigan. We are in good form at the moment," Mancini said.
"But we're not 100 per cent, because we are missing the goals from our strikers that they scored last season."
And therein lies the conundrum Mancini has yet to solve this season. He has four top strikers who have somehow lost the killer instinct in front of goal that last season shocked United with a famous 6-1 victory at Old Trafford.
Their latest failure to put an opponent to the sword came after Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini scored his eighth goal of the season - a tally City strikers Tevez, Edin Dzeko, Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli cannot match - to put the visitors ahead in the 33rd minute.
Fellaini then conceded a penalty from a 43rd-minute corner when he tugged down Dzeko and Tevez sent goalkeeper Tim Howard the wrong way with a precise spot kick.