Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini was delighted with Mario Balotelli's goal scoring performance in victory over Aston Villa.

Balotelli was on target in the 4-0 win at Blackburn prior to the international break, and stole the show on Saturday, kicking things off with a sumptuous overhead kick before Adam Johnson, Vincent Kompany and James Milner all chipped in.

The win took City two points clear of Manchester United ahead of next weekend's derby at Old Trafford and Roberto Mancini, who has had to deal temper tantrums and displays of arrogance from Balotelli believes his player is finally getting the message.

"I think Mario is always happy. In this moment, after he was on the bench in the last month, he maybe understood," he said.

"He played well, has scored four goals in a row and works for the team. Mario can change in a moment but I am happy because it is now 40, 50 days (when he has) played and worked well.

"He is motivated because he is playing and scoring. It is important moment for him. I think that for a player on the bench with me it is not easy to watch the game and not play in a team playing well and scoring goals."