Europa League: Mario Balotelli’s double strike sends Manchester City to knockout stage
Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli scored two goals in a 3-0 win over SV Salzburg. The win takes them to the knockout stages of the competition with one last game still to be played against Juventus in two weeks time. England International
Adam Johnson scored the 3rd and final goal of the night in the 78th minute.
City boss Roberto Mancini will be happy with the performance not only because of the emphatic win, but also because of the clean sheet they kept at Eastlands.
The £24 million catch Mario Balotelli from Inter Milan showed his class and seems an out an out striker. Since his recovery from injury, the Italian has been scoring goals freely. City dominated the possession and could have scored
many goals, but some of the star players were guilty of poor finishing at times.
In the post match conference the Italian was very pleased with the result and qualification and said that, he can now concentrate on Premier League. City manager believes they could have scored 3-4 times had they converted their
chances. Mancini also praised Balotelli.
He said, “He’s a good striker but he must improve. He can play better than he did tonight.”
On Johnson’s 3rd goal of the match, Mancini said,”He scored a good goal tonight and I'm happy for him because he's a good guy. But like Mario, he can play better.”
In the first half, Balotelli had a wonderful chance to score, but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. The Italian chose to shoot, but it went straight to the keeper although Jo was free as well inside the box. Had Balotelli shown
more maturity it could have been a goal.
The Italian suffered a slight hamstring problem and he was later substituted in the 71st minute by Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor. The 20-year-old striker’s departure did not stop the misery as Michael Johnson
scored a wonderful goal. The Englishman cut from left and after beating three men put the ball into the net.
Salzburg had couple of close chances as well. First, when Rabiu Afolabi’s header missed the target from close range and next when City goalkeeper Shay Given was forced to save from Stefan Hierlander.
City players were guilty of spilling the chances. Especially Joleon Lescott and Shaun Wright-Phillips lacked the delivery of the final ball. Jo was also unable to beat his marker. However, Mancini’s side was superb in build-up
play, but at the same time lacked maturity to deliver a calculated pass. It was more or less a training routine for the Blues, who kept control of both halves and did not allow the opposition to settle in the game.
Mancini will be visiting at Turin this month to face Juventus. Although the clash is considered as dead rubber, but there will be lot of pride at stake for both clubs. Mancini’s visit to his old enemy will bring some excitement
for the fans.
City's next game is in the Barclays Premier League when they face high-flying Bolton Wanderers at Reebok Stadium. They must win every game now to keep their title hopes alive.
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