Mario Balotelli's honeymoon
period after his close-season move from AC Milan to Liverpool
appears to be coming to a close.
The talented 24-year-old striker, who courts a rebellious
image, was well received in Liverpool after the transfer, with
team shirts with his name on the back selling fast.
The spell at Anfield started well, with the Italian
scoring his first goal for his new club in a 2-1 home win over
Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League.
He also converted two penalties to help the Reds win a
penalty shootout to win a League Cup tie against Middlesbrough
last week.
But Liverpool's form in the English Premier League has
been poor so far this season.
They are a lowly 14th, trailing leaders Chelsea by nine
points, and have shown few signs so far of being able to mount a
challenge like last season's, when they finished two points
behind champions Manchester City.
And, much like he was many people's scapegoat for Italy's
poor showing at the World Cup, Balotelli, who has not scored in
the English top flight this term, is starting to get the blame
for his team's performances.
This is nothing new, as the player was regularly at the
centre of British media storms during his 2010-2012 stint at
Manchester City, due to his poor disciplinary record and bizarre
off-field antics.
But this time more attention is being paid to Balotelli's
alleged footballing deficiencies, as seen in a scathing attack
in Tuesday's Daily Mail.
"Mario Balotelli is an overpaid penalty taker who no longer
takes penalties," read the piece by Adrian Durham.
"Milan were so desperate to get rid of the striker they
accepted only £16million for him.
"That desperation became obvious when they (Milan) replaced
him with Fernando Torres.
"Liverpool shouldn't be dealing with bargain strikers
nobody else wants.
"Let's wait and see what it is that Mario Balotelli brings
to the Liverpool party. A couple of stuttering shoot-out
spot-kicks against Middlesbrough, and a goal against Champions
League also-rans are a mediocre return so far. It's early days,
but points are being dropped...
"Managers who have put their faith in Balotelli in the past
have been let down. (Liverpool boss) Brendan Rodgers is setting
himself up for a fall - he has put an extraordinary amount of
faith in this player, and it would be a shame if Balotelli
didn't repay this faith in full. But will he?".
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