Hart warms to Balotelli

Stuart Brennan

August 20, 2010

Mario Balotelli (centre) celebrates his goal

Instant hero Mario Balotelli has already made a big impact on Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart.

The new striker scored the winner after coming on as a substitute in a tight Europa League qualifying clash with Timisoara in Romania on Thursday night.

The finish was a simple side-foot but Hart has warned City fans that they are in for some special goals from the £24m man. Hart has already felt the power in Balotelli’s right foot in training, and was full of praise for the way the new boy came off the bench to make his mark.

“He certainly announced himself,” said Hart with a grin. “He had a couple of chances but it was good for him to get that first goal out of the way.

Click here to see our player ratings and submit your own

“He has a great touch and a hell of a right foot, which is interesting to train against!”

Balotelli limped off towards the end of the Blues’ win after taking a kick on the knee but manager Roberto Mancini believes he will be fit to make his home debut against Liverpool on Monday night.

Hart was more than happy with a competent display.

“They were a hard team to break down and we had to be patient,” he said.

“They had an 11-man wall beyond the halfway line but we got there in the end.”

What do you think? Have your say.

| Submit Comments | Comments (98) |

Showing comments 1 to 25 and replies | View All

Batmanho, Robinhos big brother, Bat Cave, Brazil (20/08/2010 at 09:46)

Agree with RM, a very good display by City, particularly in the second half. Well done.

Moston Blue (20/08/2010 at 09:55)

Just hope he isn't out injured for long after a promising start

True Blue,Galway.Ireland, Galway (20/08/2010 at 10:00)

So many anti - City headlines.Like "Balotelli comes to City rescue" ," Balotelli saves City's blushes.I mean City won the game 1-0 which means the score was never any worse than 0 - 0.Maybee they see that using negative headlines relating to City that the sale of their tabloids to Utd supporters will pay their weekly wage and who care about journalistic ethics.

Moston Blue (20/08/2010 at 10:23)

Exactly.
City were away from home in a European game. It was a classic European away performance.
Too many times in the past we have drawn away from home in Europe and gone out as a result (and before any rags come on, yes I know I have a long memory ;) )

paulo jackson (20/08/2010 at 10:26)

You right mate, i notice l/pool was a good result, same scoreline as city but at home!!!!!! See that pratt Gale has joined the anti City brigade on mu sky tv his comments this morning were nothing short of a disgrace!!!

Half time time pint, STILL queuing at the bar. (20/08/2010 at 10:39)

Always thought the first objective away from home in europe was to keep a clean sheet and the second was to get an away goal. Obviously we are all wrong.

View all 15 replies

bluecity, north stand (20/08/2010 at 10:15)

2nd half was a lot better city controlled the game & were unlucky not to come away with more goals in the bag.
Balitelli had a good debut,everything clicked into place when him & johnson were on.
Just hope balis injury is nothing to worry about ,he was still limping when filmed at the airport.
Overall good team performance ,welldone city keep improving.

Captain Capricorn is a Blue, The Isle of Everywhere (20/08/2010 at 10:36)

Very impressive debut for me, he looked like a threat from the minute he came on. I am really looking forward to seeing him terrorise defences this season. Hope his injury is not serious and was just a knock! All in all, a commanding performance, we were never in any threat and controlled the game from start to finish apart from a very dubious penalty claim, which could have been given. A 0-1 win away in Europe and still people on another thread moan, this is the result Mancini was looking for and would have probably settled for a 0-0 and then finished it off at home. One thing I have noticed about Mancini’s tactics is he is very happy to defend a clean sheet in the first half and come out attacking in the second. I for one was very happy with what I saw and think it will just get better and better as the team gel. Our defence look very tight particularly with Joe in goals. Well done Blues! CTID and Beyond!

Johno CTID, Manchester Born and Bread (20/08/2010 at 10:47)

Not as many blushes as Spurs though

Blue Balls, Napier, NZ (20/08/2010 at 18:56)

lol what!!? spurs won there game didn't they!!! least thats what the papers say

Im so confused
Timi 0 - 1 City so this is now a loss!!?
Underage boys 3 - 2 Spuds, A win for spurs!!?
USA World Cup 1-1 win to USA!!?

Its Ocean Finance on the phone - 85 million a year in interest payments for nowt (20/08/2010 at 10:53)

As we celebrate yet another good result spare a thought for our debt riddled neighbours.

At a cost of £85 million a year. to service Uniteds debts. thats one Ronaldo and an unseen Bebe sold every year. Lets hope for their sakes that Rooney finds a bit of form so they can sell him to keep up the mortgage payments on the heavily mortgaged house.

Dash Riprock (20/08/2010 at 19:34)

City are spending millions per year on players whilst United are spending their millions on interest payments. Which would you prefer Sir Alex?

The Scout, Manchester (21/08/2010 at 08:13)

Change the record,Weren't you lot saying this last season ?, No doubt you will be saying it again next season too, The smart money is going on Manchester United taking their 19th (count em) title.

not a rag rat in the sinkin ship, manchester (20/08/2010 at 11:02)

True Blue Galwaw - 10.00

Couldnt agree more Cant wait for the MUEN headline tonight most probebly wiil be along lines -CITY SCRAPE WIN But if it had been the Rags then you can just see the headline from Fergie Towers - REDS SUPERB WIN AGAINST STUBBORN DEFENCE !

dufflec, nialll quinn,terry phelan live on (20/08/2010 at 11:06)

spuds lose 3-2 could have been 5-1 were was the headlines in gutter press then,or if rags had that scoreline the headline would be"frusrating night for rags".But now mirror have mancini will walk if italy come in,even though he said further down the line of his career he would love to manage italy.They really going all out to smear our club.

Esso Blue + Space Dust., Manchester (20/08/2010 at 11:12)

tottenham got an open top bus round london after the loss.

The crafty goat, Manchester (20/08/2010 at 11:10)

The kid went in where it hurts and with some good defensive headers.

Hope it continues in both penalty areas.

Blackly_Blue, Manchester (20/08/2010 at 11:13)

Let's not get in to having a go at the press, we all know they have the headlines writen before a ball is kicked. Keep on getting better with each game City and we can then just sit back and have a good laugh at the rubbish written by lazy jerno's. They'll come running as soon as win anything. More faces than a town hall clock.

blueballs (20/08/2010 at 11:22)

Off topic but I had the Liverpool game on the telly last night whilst I listened to city on radio manchester. Trabzonspor bought on a player called "Alanzinho", it had me sniggering away for ages.

Dribble, Manchester (20/08/2010 at 18:39)

Yeh I was doing the same watching the Liverpool game whilst listening to city on the radio & I nearly choked when I saw his name flash up!!!!!

Alanzinho.... You couldn't make it up could ya!!!! *LOL* :-)

John Wythenshawe Exile, Indonesia (20/08/2010 at 11:28)

The rag tops can only fool some of the people some of the time, sooner or later when silverware is won they will have to swallow and print the truth.

DarthGorb. (20/08/2010 at 11:32)

Oh dear,how sad,never mind.Please click the link.It might make you smile

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_utd/8931026.stm

TrueBlue,always a Blue, middlesbrough (20/08/2010 at 17:09)

Read it very good,but did you also read the article where nited had asked Trafford Borough Council to ban charities from collecting from the streets surrounding Castle Greyskull where as our beloved owner donates his liable case wins money along with 250k to Manchester childrens hospital(But the media dont like to print good news about City)

Blue Balls, Napier, NZ (20/08/2010 at 19:04)

so sad, does this mean they can't play in CL now

ray class of '68 and before, Bristol Area (20/08/2010 at 21:40)

EveryyCity supporter should log on to this, and then when the right moment arises, and it will, quote the facts to the Red's who comment on our financial position. TTFN

blues 2 win (20/08/2010 at 11:33)

The silliest comment about last night is that City played with three 'defensive midfielders'. De Jong is, certainly, a straightforward defensive midfielder who breaks up play and keeps it simple. Yaya, on the other hand not only tackles but can surge forward and spray the ball about. Barry has never been a particularly good defensive midfielder because he's too slow and not strong enough in the tackle. Last night Mancini seemed to want him to play further forward where he can influence play with his range of passing.

Anyway on Monday Milner will surely come in and either De Jong or Barry will drop out. I'd leave out Barry personally and play Yaya and De Jong to provide the protection whilst Milner and Silva have the freedom to express themselves. If need be De Jong can drop out in the second half for Balotelli or Johnson. If Roberto's feeling particularly aggressive he could do that from the beginning but I doubt he will.

Whatever, the complaints about 'three defensive midfielders' will be over from Monday.

Faishcakes, Chorlton (20/08/2010 at 12:58)

It seems yaya is more of your box to box player, a la Gerrard etc. I was very impressed this the dummy he sold in the box in the second half. I think he will be one of are top performers and could easily get 10/12 league goals this season.

I think Milner will replace Barry, who can be so labored in his play at times. It a shame Johnson can't get a start as city always look more threatening when he's on the pitch. A very good sub to have!

Half time time pint, STILL queuing at the bar. (20/08/2010 at 13:06)

True Blue,Galway.Ireland, Galway (20/08/2010 at 10:00)

I have a Chelsea mate who has supported them from way back. He couldn't believe the amount of poison aimed at them when they got a few quid. They got exactly what we are getting now. They developed a real siege mentality and it only started changing when they began winning stuff and the media wanted to talk to them. Of course it made the winning all the sweeter.

The truth was though, that most football fans with a brain didn't hate them. Sure there was banter and a bit of jealousy, but it was exciting to have players like Drogba in the prem.

It's the same for us, neutrals would much rather watch Balotelli than Barton, Tevez than Tiatto. It just doesn't make a good story for the media. We just have to get behind the team and wait. Our time is coming.

Rita Fitton, I love Garry Cook, Florida & Manchester (20/08/2010 at 14:15)

I was talking to a Chelsea fan too and they do have some empathy with us. He said it was brutal for them too and that we should enjoy seeing all these United fans more bothered about us than themselves.

Andrew Shaw (20/08/2010 at 14:45)

I agree. I know three Chelsea fans who all say they got dog's abuse when Abramovich turned up and they are all quite pleased that we have just come in to a few quid because nobody bothers about them that much now! It's all aimed at us.

captain Balotelli's mandolin , manchester (20/08/2010 at 13:08)

JOB WELL DONE 1 NIL WIN AWAY IN EUROPE WHAT MORE DOES THE RAG GUTTER PRESS WANT. BRING ON THE WOOLEY BACKS ON MONDAY

short term history for rags the future is blue, audenshaw (20/08/2010 at 13:09)

I still don't know what is the best formation suppose it changes dependent on opposition,still a win abroad is not to be sniffed at. See the daily (united) mirror headlined that Mancini was back off to Italy and our new superstar was lucky not to be sent off, i would'nt buy the rag except for Andy Capp.

Jim Land, Sunny Oz (20/08/2010 at 22:52)

Why not wait and buy the Andy Capp annual each year?

Colin Bell, Manc in Cobh. (20/08/2010 at 14:08)

I like the way Super Mario plays. He will score goals and not afraid to get stuck in.
I just hope he won't keep falling over every time he is tackled!!!

Ex-Red turned Blue 1968, Warrington (20/08/2010 at 14:34)

I bet Fergie is green & gold with envy!!! lol

Mario looks a better prospect than Drogba or Torres, priceless.

Bet Fred Done, will be slashing our odds now.

CTID

Andrew Shaw (20/08/2010 at 14:43)

I don't quite understand why the press all seem to think Yaya Toure is a holding midfielder. No more than Scholes or Lampard. He is far more likely to be getting from one end to the other as was seen in one of his last games at Barcelona in the Champions League when he was the furthest man forward to cross the ball in a goal scoring attack. He'll put a tackle in but he is far more Marc Vivien Foe than Nigel de Jong and he'll score a few goals as well to prove it.

hmmm, here (20/08/2010 at 15:39)

Quite right he can carry the ball forward, has a good range of passing, can shoot from distance and gets into the box pretty often.

He was the most defensive midfielder in the Barcelona side.. that had Xavi, Iniesta as the others and didn't play a traditional holding midfield role.

It's like all this tripe about not being able to get into the side. He was a stalwart in the Barcelona side that won everything and would easily be in ahead of Busquets if he was Catalan. Barcelona fans and the manager wanted to keep him.

Same with Silva.. look he's no good he can't get in the Spain side! Fabregas can't get in the Spain side! And he's undoubtedly one of the best players in the Premiership.

rich uncle malcolm, manchester (20/08/2010 at 16:46)

yaya is gonna be awesome this season, he is already starting to look like the midfield general we need and as you say he is far more than just a holding player.

Bed Wetter, Laundrette (20/08/2010 at 14:52)

Must say I wasn't impressed with Mario. He looks like a cart horse if you ask me. I'd rather we signed Carlton Cole or Kevin Davies to be honest because at least they've got a bit of bottle. Which is more than can be said about most of our lads....

the tblisi tearaway, Manchester (20/08/2010 at 16:32)

Ha ha, Red Debtor! Or should I use your alter ego, Cat Stabber. Nothing to write about but debt on your page, I suppose. Get back to the swamp.

bluewithaveiw (20/08/2010 at 16:36)

its quite obvious your a rag who's got nothing to comment on on the darkside, but please dont set your heart on Cole & Davis are both out of your league ( with no money ) the days when you could afford players of this quality are well & truely over, "A-O-N" ALL OVER NOW !

Youll just have to settle for BEBO & LITTLE WEE WEE.

Satan South Park (20/08/2010 at 16:50)

Bebe has bottle,normally in a brown paper bag but thats a parafin trait.Sir shadrach needs to knock that one on the head before he starts stealing the family silver!!

View all 19 replies

The Insider, CTID. (20/08/2010 at 15:33)

Its about time this paper started giving this club the publicity it deserves, im sure city contribute financialy a lot more than owed trafford !!!

steven ashton (20/08/2010 at 22:59)

Only one club has promted Manchester in a positive light, guess which one?

paul woodhouse, gorton (20/08/2010 at 16:30)

Type your comment here...100/1 for mario to score and get sent off against liverpool... thats got to e worth a punt...lol

you can see the fans taking to him, like we did with bellamy, he will give 100% while playing. but will do something stupid, and get sent off.

Templar Citizen (20/08/2010 at 16:33)

Its 4.30pm the sun has just come out, I'm going into town for a beer or two in a minute, super mario lokks as though he's gonna be a star, city have sold all their season tickets, ManU's debt payments have just gone up. Oh what it is to be a blue these days.

()

Report

Manchester City