Mancini blasts ‘stupid’ Mario as City go out

ROBERTO MANCINI has accused Mario Balotelli of stupidity in picking up a red card that cost Manchester City their Europa League place.

Two goals down from the first leg of their last-16 meeting with Dynamo Kiev, City were left to play for almost an hour with 10 men after Balotelli was sent off for planting his studs into Goran Popov’s chest and thigh.

Although they quickly made light of Balotelli’s absence to pull a goal back through Aleksandar Kolarov, City eventually ran out of steam and ideas against a team content to soak up pressure, and a second goal that would have forced the encounter into extra-time eluded them, leaving Mancini a frustrated man at the final whistle.