Balotelli, 20, stepped off the bench to score the winner in the 1-0 play-off first leg victory against Timisoara in Romania.
He swept the ball home from close range after being set up by Emmanuel Adebayor in the 72nd minute.
It has been a whirlwind week for Balotelli, whose registration was only received by UEFA on deadline day after he arrived last week from Inter Milan for a reported £24million.
City boss Mancini said: "He had a great debut and I am happy that he scored. He is a good player.
"He needs to improve of course and get to know everybody. It was the first time he had played with the team."
Balotelli, however, picked up a booking after losing his cool and was told by Mancini not to repeat his actions in England.
The Italian warned: "We must work on this with him because it will be different in the Premier League than in Italy."
Balotelli needed treatment at the end of the game but should be available to face Liverpool at home on Monday.
Mancini said: "We do not think it is serious. It was probably just a kick, it is not a problem."
England's biggest spenders were good value for their victory after stepping up the pace in the second half.
Yaya Toure thumped a shot against the post before Balotelli stunned the industrious home side.
Mancini said: "It was a difficult game because Timisoara are a good team and they played very well in the first half.
"In the end, it is a good result for us. But they made it difficult for us by getting so many players behind the ball.
"All the players played well, especially in the second half and we moved the ball quickly. When (Adam) Johnson came on, he also did well.
"I think we deserved to score another goal because we had three or four good chances."
But Mancini stressed that the tie was not over and there was still work to be done at Eastlands.
He added: "Football is strange. When you think you can win easy, you must have maximum concentration."
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SUPER super bell,SUPER super bell,SUPER super bell,SUPER BALOTELLI.
If we start like this against the scousers I fear the worst.we must be at them from the first whistle And put them on the backfoot.johnson And belloti must start a draw won't do. A defeat unthinkable. So come on carlos And mancini fire them up..!!! Come on city..!!!!
not serious ? thank f for that :D
Sorry to be a nerd but i think you will find that ades on the left
No doubt for me what kind of striker will be Super Mario for Mancio City! He and AJ will become early the brighter side of Blue Moon, that's for sure!
Hope Roberto is right about Balotelli`s injury being only a minor one. We need him against Liverpool who I thought looked to be improved in the game against Arsenal. I`m sure that having Roy Hodgson as manager in place of the rather unpopular Rafa Benitez has done wonders for morale, both of the team and their supporters. So as we are already without Boateng and Kolarov, the last thing we need is Balotelli to be absent also. Could be a real thriller of a game on Monday.
According to Cheeseman and Eyre on Radio M/cr Balotelli made an immediate impact. He certainly started life as a City player on the right note by scoring his debut goal - I hope it's the first of many. Clearly we're going to have a to wait a while before we get any real fluency in the team, but we also have to believe in ourselves a bit more and put teams under pressure. I realise that I'm putting forward a simplistic view but the best form of defense is to attack. Considering we have all these talented players now we allow ourselves to be put under pressure too easily. We have the talent now to play it a different way, let's do it.
I think this "bad boy" and Manchester City are made for each other. Every ref in the league is going to go looking for him though !
Looked good at times but suspect at the back, some settling in needed. Looking forward to watching Balotelli next Thursday on a full outing!
Solid performance and another clean sheet. Think Mario will suit the prem league, very direct with pace, just what we have been lacking.
Also just seen on Goal.com that City have agreed fee with Besiktas for Robinho of £16m plus £10m in add ons. If that's true a good bit of business to almost recover the £32m spent on him.
I watched the game we dominated so much possession which I think we will do a lot this season but to be able to bring quality players off the bench like Balotelli, Johnson and Well Jo can have an immediate impact!!
Very important that Balotelli got off the mark on his debut I do worry about Italians in the prem, I see Liverpool will be loaning out 20 million Alberto Aquilani, wonder if the pundits slate the bin dippers for that!!! Doubt it!
Mario just has to be careful as he will be targeted from the opposition to wind-up!!! He didn't deserve a yellow too!
Question - How does Sky Sports get the headline "Mancini expects Italy return" from the following comments from an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport?
"Here in England, they are more regimented. We are facing a thousand difficulties and it's not easy, but it is great to work in such an important country. But it's not the same pressure as in Italy. Here you can take a few more risks when you make choices, but in the end you need to get the results, like anywhere else."
"I do not try to envisage it [when I will return to Italy]. Sooner or later it will happen and I would love to coach Italy one day. You cannot say no to the national team, but Italy should be pleased that myself, [Carlo] Ancelotti, [Fabio] Capello and the rest are working in England because we are getting new experiences and will go back having improved ourselves."
"With him [Ancelotti] it has been different. He came to a team which was already well oiled. At City we are still building everything, from the mentality of the team and its environment to all the rest."
Is it, because like most of the lazy journalists in England, Sky Sports can't be bothered to do anything but pander to the lazy, ignorant armchair Utd supporters? Let's heap even more pressure on Roberto for, I don't know ... breathing English air, wearing a scarf in an unusual way, not genuflecting in the direction of Old Trafford every time he speaks or being his own man. Hmmmm ...
There'll be plenty more of where that came from!