Currently staying in a hotel after setting his house ablaze by letting off fireworks indoors this weekend, Balotelli was equally explosive in the derby at Old Trafford.
After netting a 22nd-minute opener, the 21-year-old Italian lifted his shirt to reveal a T-shirt with the words "Why always me?" leaving Mancini with just one explanation.
"It's Mario," he laughed at a news conference. "He's crazy but I love him because he is a good guy."
The volatile forward picked up multiple red and yellow cards last season and honed a "bad boy" reputation off the field, letting off fireworks from the balcony of his city-centre flat, suffering a grass allergy in the middle of a match and drawing publicity for wearing a bizarre hat shaped like a glove.
"The problem is his age, he can sometimes do some mistakes, but as a player he is incredible," Mancini said of his compatriot.
"I hope for him, for football in general, the day that Mario changes his [mindset]... he will become one of the best players in the world like [Lionel] Messi, like Cristiano Ronaldo."
Those displays seem to be coming now and he will hope to show them also in City's Champions League campaign, which he has yet to feature in as he was serving a three-match ban.
The moody forward does not appear to have heeded Mancini's calls to cheer up, however, with Sunday's goal celebrations as sullen as ever though perhaps he still had the latest firework escapade on his mind.
