130 years after the people of France gifted the United States the Statue of Liberty, now an icon of our country, Alex Morgan, an idol of footballing excellence, has returned the favor by taking her talents to Lyon.

BREAKING: Orlando Pride Forward Alex Morgan to Open Year with French Club Olympique Lyonnais..

Read | https://t.co/ahuGbDPJQ7 pic.twitter.com/qKovCKBNOz

The rejuvenated heroics of Mario Balotelli saw the Italian striker score six goals in his first six Ligue 1 matches for Nice, propelling the club to the top of the table over the likes of Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain. 

Mario Balotelli has threatened to do the unthinkable if his new team, Nice, win France's Ligue 1: fly a helicopter over the city.

Nice are first in the French league right now, due in part to Balotelli's return to goal-scoring form. Balotelli isn't just content with scoring goals and winning, though. He wants to plunge the world into chaos.

Here's the quote, from Mediaset (bolding ours):

In today’s match with Lorient, Balotelli broke the tie with a late goal to put OGC Nice up 2-1. While this may come as a surprise to some, this goal is simply a continuation of Balotelli’s stellar form to start the season.

Through eight games played, thanks to Mario Balotelli’s contributions, the French side has found themselves atop the table, ahead of both high spending clubs, PSG and Monaco.

All aboard the Mario Balotelli redemption tour 2016 bandwagon. Don't be shy, there's plenty of room.

Balotelli scored again Thursday in Nice's Europa League loss to Krasnodar, giving the Italian five goals in four matches so far this season.

That's FIVE goals in four games now for Mario Balotelli... pic.twitter.com/TBPrmHiubX

— Sportlobster (@sportlobster) September 30, 2016

We were hoping for a successful Mario Balotelli tenure at Nice. Soccer is much more fun when Balotelli is good and scoring goals and not training with the reserves in Liverpool.

So, consider this us running a (very premature) victory lap, because Balotelli is killing it in France. He has played two games. He has scored four goals. Here is his most recent brace:

Mario Balotelli Scores !!! Makes it 2-0 For Nice against Monaco!! pic.twitter.com/X4SlxvJQFo

Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal yielded two story lines which have gone on to dominate this morning’s headlines. It’s just a matter of perspective: either David Ospina, selected to start over normal Arsenal No. 1 Petr Cech, earned Arsenal a point, or PSG striker Edinson Cavani squandered all three for the home side.