As José Mourinho once explained, Mario Balotelli occasionally starts playing his own game with its own set of rules out on the pitch.
In the 62nd minute of Friday’s Süper Lig encounter between Balotelli’s Adana Demirspor and home side Antalyaspor, the 31-year-old striker sprinted through the midfield on a counter attack that was quickly looking like a three-on-two for the visitors. With the score level at 1-1, this represented a huge moment for Adana Demirspor.
But after feeling a slight tap to his leg from Antalyaspor’s Fredy, Balotelli stopped in his tracks, turned around and checked the midfielder to the ground. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the tactical fouler get tactically fouled before.
The referee actually showed Balotelli the first yellow card before brandishing one to Fredy. The foul could’ve been so much worse from Fredy, so Balotelli’s reaction would be absurd if it wasn’t Super Mario.
Included in the highlight above is Balotelli’s goal in the 42nd minute, which helped his newly promoted side to a 2-1 victory. It’s the strike of a man in form — he easily brushed off two defenders before smashing a volley inside the far post — and the Italian now has four goals and two assists in eight Süper Lig matches.
Those contributions have helped his team to a solid start in Turkey’s top division. Adana Demirspor is in 10th, seven points back of leader Fenerbahçe after eight games.
