Ligue 1 2016-17: Mario Balotelli scores twice on Nice debut
Italian forward Mario Balotelli had a perfect start to his OGC Nice career when he scored twice to help his team get a 3-2 win over Marseille. The 26-year old's contribution for the French club on his debut resulted in the team being placed second on the league points table.
The former Liverpool man scored the first goal just seven minutes into the game through a penalty. Balotelli, who has a good record from the penalty spot, did not fail to find the back of the net when he was handed the responsibility of taking the spot-kick. With that goal the striker has now scored in the Serie A, Premier League and Ligue 1.
OGC Nice were not able to take advantage of their early lead and lost track. Their opponents, Marseille, pounced on the opportunity to get back into the game and scored twice in either half to take the lead. It was former Newcastle player Florian Thauvin and former Swansea player Bafetimbi Gomis who gave the Les Olympiens the lead.
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Thauvin equalized for Marseille just seven minutes after Mario Balotelli's opener and Bafetimbi Gomis scored from the spot during the 72nd minute of the game.
It was then that former AC Milan player Mario Balotelli again came as a hero for OGC Nice. The Italian scored a close range header after connecting to teammate Ricardo's cross during the 78th minute of the game.
OGC Nice player Wylan Cyprien then scored the deciding goal of the entertaining match in the 87th minute. The goal from the French attacker sealed the game for Nice and Balotelli.
A new start for the Italian
The 26-year-old was not able to seal a permanent place in Jurgen Klopp’s team and was allowed to leave the Premier League side for regular football. Although he was linked with a move back to the Serie A, it was a bit of a surprise seeing the Premier League winner with Manchester City move to France.
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Balotelli was brought to Liverpool by former Reds manager Brendan Rodgers but the Italian only managed to score one league goal in the entire 2014-15 Premier League season. He was then loaned out to AC Milan in the following season but again was able to score just one league goal for the Serie A side before the switch to Nice in the summer.