Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli scored his first Anfield goal tonight, and he looked more animated than usual.
Liverpool returned to Champions League action almost four years after their last game, and fans were optimistic of landing a big win over relative minnows Ludogorets Razgrad, with the Bulgarian side needing a divine intervention from defender Cosmin Moti to go through after the Romanian pulled off nothing short of a miracle by playing in goal in a penalty shootout against Steaua Bucharest.
Many thought that their magic would end on Merseyside tonight, as they faced a Liverpool side raring to bounce back from a shock 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa over the weekend. Yet for 82 minutes, Ludogorets held firm and even hit the post on another frustrating night at Anfield.
Then, Liverpool finally unlocked, or rather barged down the door as new signing Mario Balotelli swooped to turn the ball home after a scramble inside the box, sending the Kop into raptures – and the Italian even celebrated, which is uncharacteristic of the striker given this comment in 2012.
“When I score I don’t celebrate, because I’m doing my job. When the postman delivers your letter, does he celebrate?,” said Balotelli, but tonight’s goal clearly meant a lot to him – scoring his first Anfield goal in front of the Kop is something to be cherished, and it looked evidently important to the former Manchester City and AC Milan forward.
The night almost ended in disaster though when Dani Abalo equalised in the 90th minute for Ludogorets, but Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard kept his composure to slot home an injury time penalty and hand Liverpool a vital three points after group rivals Real Madrid beat Basel 5-1 tonight.
He may not have been at his best tonight, but Balotelli proved that he has that spark to replace Luis Suarez in the Liverpool attack – and his animated celebration suggests that he’s happy to be on Merseyside after his £16m move in August.
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