By Ewah Chika.
By Ewah Chika.
Four goals in two league games is a sort of rich form any striker will dream to be associated with and that is the reason controversial Italian forward Mario Balotelli is suddenly the new bride in football, after his Man of the Match display have ensured Nice presently top the French Ligue 1 with 14 points ahead of heavy spenders PSG who are second and on 11 points, after beating Principality club Monaco 4-0 at the Allianz Riviera on Wednesday night.
"Joining Liverpool was the worst decision of my life. Apart from the fantastic fans and some players with whom I have an excellent relationship , I did not like the club.
"I had two coaches at Liverpool, Rodgers and Klopp for a bit, I did not like their methods and their personality. I never really felt well there," were the words of Balotelli after scoring a brace on his debut against Marseille.
However, one cannot blame any manager who discards the Italian in his team after his negative controversies that has made him unable to realise his potential since making his debut aged 19 in Inter Milan. The marriage between the Italian and Liverpool have never been a match made in heaven as his style is in constrast to both of the managers that managed him in Merseyside. In total, Balotellj scored one league goal in his time at the club (2014/2015) replicating the poor form in Seria A with Milan the following season (one goal in the 2015/2016 season) . The main problem with having Balotelli in your team is that the Palermo born forward adds nothing to his team when out of possession as he rarely tackles and isn't one that knows how to press high up the pitch. While Rodgers tried to play attacking football, having individualistic players like Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge in attack meant that Balotelli was never the focal point of attack unlike his days in Manchester City where the likes of David Silva and Yaya Toure always created chances for him, allowing him to play on the shoulder of the last defender. In Liverpool, most of the attacking play came from the wings rather than the middle during the time of Rodgers although the side became a shadow of their impervious self before the signing of the forward in the summer of 2014 after the departure of Luis Suarez to Barcelona.
Under Klopp, Balotelli's problems became worse as it was clear from day one he wasn't part of the German's plans. This is one of the reason he did not travel with the rest of the squad for pre-season in America, instead playing with the reserves in Melwood. Klopp was so eager to kick out the Italian that he was offered on a free to Lucien Favre's Nice who felt they could recreate another Cinderella story after the explosive return of form of Hatem Ben Arfa last season in Nice under Claude Puel.
On the night against Monaco, Balotelli had only four shots with two finding the back of the net. The Italian had a passing accuracy of 80%, completing 20 passes and having only 35 touches despite completing the full 90 minutes. While he has failed to work on his defensive side, Balotelli has become better in shooting , registering 5.5 shots per game this season. Lucien Favre has exploited his prolific finishing and shot accuracy by playing R. Pereira and Dalbert on the wings while W. Cyprian plays in the middle with highly talented Moroccan playmaker Younous Belhanda formerly of Montepellier playing ahead of the trio and slightly behind Balotelli in a 3-2-3-1-1 formation.
"Balotelli on a free is still paying overt the odds by Nice," were the words of Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher after he made the move to Southern France which seemed the right at the time but foolish right now.
It is still too early to predict the position Nice will finish at the end of the season judging from their impervious form at the moment but one thing is certain and that the Southern French side will eventually qualify for the Champions League next season.
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