That Nice are still in the hunt for the Ligue 1 title is largely due to one man: Mario Balotelli. Love him or hate him, there is no deny that the Italian has stepped up to answer his side’s call when they have most needed it this season, and that was again the case on Friday night as they went to Lille and recorded a 2-1 victory.
Lucien Favre’s side has made a nasty habit of falling behind in matches lately, and that was the case once more as they found themselves trailing to a deflected shot from Ibrahim Amadou. It was at that moment, however, that stirred Balotelli.
A terrific breakaway led to Valentin Eysseric fashioning the opportunity for him to drill home the equaliser within two minutes, while the winner arrived shortly before the break as the striker leapt on the rebound to a Ricardo Pereira shot that had been well stopped by Vincent Enyeama.
It was a goal that looked simple due to the ease with which it was executed, but it could only have been scored by a master poacher. Balotelli had anticipated what would happen as soon as the ball left his team-mate’s boot and as everyone else stood still, it was he who profited.
Those efforts – incredibly the first he has scored away from home in the league in France - assured Nice a taste of European football next season, not an inconsiderable achievement for the club, but what they are really after now is a taste of the Champions League. Balotelli is bringing it to them.
After suffering successive blows when Wylan Cyprien and Alassane Plea were the victims of serious knee injuries within the space of a few weeks, it would have been easy for Nice to falter. Those players had been their most important to that juncture of the season, and their absences have been added to by a number of other key players to miss out, including influential centre-back Paul Baysse.
In each of their last four matches, Nice have suffered. They have conceded the opening goal in all of them but have hung tough in the title race thanks to their come-from-behind victories over Bordeaux and Lille – opponents who would have been tough even with a full squad available.
Before those games, Balotelli had been relatively quiet by his standards. Indeed, he had managed just two goals since Christmas in the league. If Nice were to maintain a challenge, they could not afford him to continue misfiring.
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Coming of age?
Often considered immature or mentally fragile, he has shown an ability to carry a team as its star man. There has been little flashy about his goals, but they have been taken with the utmost severity and this professional approach is exactly what Nice need with him.
There was a period he was criticised by team-mates and even Favre for not working hard enough defensively, but not anymore. The Swiss seems to have appreciated that a gentle approach is required to get the best out of the mercurial attacker.
“I ask him to do more defensive, to get back. But I do it without shouting,” he explained.
Speaking back in September, he voiced his confidence that the striker can one day go back to the very peak of the game.
“He will return to the top level if he is professional. After difficult years for him, his recovery will be the key to returning to the top,” he explained.
It’s certainly not all been plain sailing for the attacker in France, particularly at the start of 2017, but should he continue on this form, there is bound to be a clamour to sign a striker who is showing that he remains a matchwinner at his best.
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