City were back at their freescoring best as they crushed Norwich 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday to maintain their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League. That took their goal tally to a remarkable 48 in just 14 league games - just 12 behind their total for the whole of last season - and they are well on course to smash Chelsea's record of 103 from the 2009-10 campaign. But as exciting as that is for supporters, Barry insists the victory column is the only statistic that matters. The 30-year-old England international told City TV: "It is an unbelievable record and at times people were getting frustrated because we were finding it hard to break them down in the first half an hour. "But if people are patient they will realise we are going to create chances and eventually get the goals. "When people start expecting 5-1 wins at home it can become very dangerous. "It is important the players keep trying to create as many chances and score as many goals as possible, but most importantly keep playing as a team and keep winning football matches. "That is what we have got to try to do until the end of the season." City outplayed the Canaries but did not take the lead until Sergio Aguero displayed some nimble footwork and great vision to poke home an opener through a crowded goal area after 32 minutes. The impressive Samir Nasri, making his third successive start, doubled the advantage after the break when Norwich allowed his lofted free-kick to drift towards goal and bounce in. Yaya Toure added a third with a fine finish from the edge of the box before Norwich grabbed a consolation through in-form Wales striker Steve Morison with 10 minutes remaining. After being starved of possession and chances, a 3-1 scoreline might have been respectable for Norwich but substitutes Mario Balotelli and Adam Johnson piled on the agony in the closing minutes. Barry was awarded the fans' man-of-the-match award but felt the accolade should really have been shared around for another superb team display. The former Aston Villa player said: "I am playing in a fantastic team. "Obviously with these players your confidence keeps growing and growing. "The squad is fantastic and the manager has got great options. "If we are going to achieve stuff the squad is going to be more important than the team. "Everyone has had to wait their turn all season, including myself." Mancini must now juggle his players again with this Wednesday's decisive Champions League group game against Bayern Munich followed by a trip to Chelsea. Mancini said: "Always it is difficult to choose a teamsheet because I am very sorry when I leave out players. "But now we play every three days. In three days we have an important match in the Champions League and then we play Chelsea and Arsenal. We have a lot of games." Balotelli, returning after serving a ban for his sending off at Liverpool last week, again managed to cause a stir despite being on the field only 18 minutes. This time the Italian's attention-grabbing act was to score by nudging the ball over the line with his shoulder after John Ruddy saved his initial shot. Mancini played down suggestions he was being cocky. He said: "Mario is like this, he is a fantastic player. He can score a fantastic goal. It was a nice finish, typical Mario."
