adminAC Milan striker Mario Balotelli insists he is not the person who the media describe him as following his impressive performance against Udinese on Tuesday night. The 25-year-old, on loan from English club Liverpool following a horrid first season at Anfield last year, was handed his first start for the Rossoneri on his return and took just five minutes to open the scoring with a perfectly-placed free-kick from the edge of the area.
Milan were up 3-0 at the break thanks to goals from Giacomo Bonaventura and Cristian Zapata, and despite two second-half goals from Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu and Duvan Zapata, the San Siro side were able to hang on for their second 3-2 victory in a row to grab maximum points.
‘Super Mario’ was understandably pleased with his performance, before taking a dig at the opposing defenders after being fouled nine times throughout the game.
“I worked for the team, as I always do,” he said after the match. “It was a difficult game for me, because I knew they were trying to provoke me. I got a booking that ruined my night a bit, but I am nonetheless happy with my performance.
“Defenders provoke me? Either they get a yellow card or my leg, but they’re not going to get the ball.”
The Italian forward says he is slowing silencing his critics, but insists he is not the person many people claim him to be.
“I am slowly getting a few chips off my shoulder, because in recent years between Italy and England they said so much, but I stayed in silence,” he said.
“In the locker room and in my life I am a completely different person to the one that has been described.”
Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic heaped praise on his maverick forward, and is confident ‘Balo’ will be back to his very best soon.
“He had an excellent game, holding up the ball and putting up with a lot of fouls, never reacting,” the Milan coach said. “He was always sharp, proved he’s back to being the real Balotelli and that he knows how to control the provocation.
He was perfect.
“His talent was never in doubt, it was an issue of the mind. The defenders beat him up because he’s good, but he scores goals anyway.
“We talked and I had to look him in the eye to know if what he said was real. So far his behaviour has been perfect and on the field he made the difference tonight. He needs to be consistent, training well, behaving well and playing well.
“I’ll make sure he sticks to the right path.” – KICKOFF
Online Reporter