Mancini calls out misfiring Inter strikers
Roberto Mancini has warned misfiring Inter Milan they need to awake from their goals slumber as the Serie A giants' title challenge took a knock at the weekend. "We're creating the chances, but we need to be more intelligent in the way we deal with them and finish them off, otherwise it becomes a problem," Mancini said after Inter dropped points for the third consecutive game in a 1-1 draw with 10-man Carpi. "I'm 50 years old, and even I would have scored from some of the chances we had." As fellow Argentinians Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala continue their impressive goals quest, Inter's main striker Mauro Icardi has yet to get up to speed. The Argentinian shared the league's top scorer's award with Luca Toni last year after both finished on 22 goals. In 21 games this term, Higuain is on record pace for Napoli with 21 goals and Dybala claimed his 12th of the campaign for Juventus in a 1-0 defeat of Roma. Icardi has scored eight in 18 appearances. Although Icardi was not the only culprit for Inter -- Ivan Perisic, who had six shots on goal Sunday, and Adem Ljajic spurned good opportunities -- the misses are proving costly. Inter were heading for their first win in three games thanks to Rodrigo Palacio's lucky 39th minute tap-in until surrendering to a Carpi counter-attack in the dying minutes. It didn't take long for Inter's rivals to quickly mock Mancini's men, with pictures of the popular Italian dish lasagna being quickly posted on social media sites. With just five points from their last five outings and with Napoli, Juventus and Fiorentina all picking up wins, Inter dropped to fourth at six points off the pace. For former Roma and Genoa striker Roberto Pruzzo, Inter's title chase is already over. "Inter have now lost all chance of finishing among the top two," Pruzzo told Radio Radio. "I think it will be difficult for them to come back into contention, especially as they have two difficult fixtures coming up." Mancini will be hoping Icardi and co. quickly find their scoring boots, although Sunday's result suggests on-loan Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic could come off the bench to start against Juventus in the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-final in Turin Wednesday. Next weekend, Inter face AC Milan, as the away team, in the city derby on Sunday. Yet Mancini, who led Inter to seven trophies including three consecutive league titles in his previous spell in charge (2004-2008), has admitted he may be partly to blame. Only two weeks ago Mancini claimed he would happily go through the season winning games by 1-0 margins if it meant the Nerazzurri stayed top of the pile. Nine of Inter's 12 wins have been 1-0 affairs, and Mancini says its time to change tack. "It's not good enough anymore. Scoring once is not enough when you create so many chances," he added. "We need to show our clinical side to settle these games quickly, otherwise you won't achieve anything."
