Although he has received backing from Roberto Mancini, he’s never really settled down to life in the Premier League.

Gilardino spoke to the media and said:

“I don’t know Balotelli too well, but he certainly has great qualities,”

“However, he must learn how to apply the brakes and moderate himself or he risks losing himself.”

Fans hurled abuse like: “Son of a b****”, “go away” and “Milanista piece of s***”. This was after his controversial move from Inter Milan to Manchester City.

Inter Milan went on to win the game 5 – 2, but it was an unpleasant time for Mario, in which if Manchester City were to play Inter Milan in a European Game, it would be a tough time for Mario.

Mancini Said: “I expect more because Mario has an incredible attitude to play football. He can play better.

“He scored a fantastic goal on Sunday but after this he should have continued to play for the team. It is important that all the players work in the defensive phase when we lose the ball.”

“Sometimes you do not play as well as you can. That’s normal, also for Mario. He has come back after two months out and played two games in 10 days.”

“But it’s important when you are tired and play every three days, that you have the right mentality. That’s the same for Mario and for all the players.”

“They should understand for us this is a very important moment. This month is a key month for us because this month can change our future.”

Balotelli has been linked with a move away from Eastlands in the summer amid reports he is unhappy with life in England, with Inter’s fierce rivals AC Milan understood to be interested in his signature.”

However, Fulham came back from 1 – 0 down, with Damien Duff scoring just after the half time interval.

“I am not happy with Mario.” “I know him very well and I know he can play better. He can play for the team. He scored a fantastic goal but there were still 70 minutes left.” “He can’t lose the ball all the time. Every time the ball went to the front, we didn’t keep it.”

An injury hit Manchester City rose to the challenge and played good football in parts, with Edin Dzeko being the star of the show, infact he could have scored a hat-trick, but fluffed a great opportunity.

The first goal of the evening for Dzeko, was a beautiful low effort after Nikolaos Lazaridis presented him a very easy chance, quite a calamity to be honest.

The second goal, featured lovely build up play from livewire David Silva and the finish was emphatic. A Carlos Tevez pass, then cutting inside Lazaridis and then Michel, smashed into the same corner as the first goal.

Edin had then an opportunity to score a third, but a good save from Sifakis’s outstretched arm, made sure he didn’ t get the chance for his first Man City hat-trick. just before the interval.

Then our man Super Mario Balotelli had a glorious chance, but the shot crashed the post.

All in all it was a good result for Manchester City.

Super Mario was a doubt for this game, after a clash of heads with Krystien Pearce at the weekend in the FA Cup tie with Notts County. Micah Richards, Shaun Wright Phillips, Shay Given, James Milner, Nigel De Jong and Adam Johnson all look set to miss the match due to various injuries.

Starting Line Up:
Hart, Taylor, Zabaleta, Boateng, K Toure, Kompany, Kolarov, Lescott, Wright-Phillips, Vieira, Y Toure, Silva, Barry, Tevez, Dzeko, Balotelli, Jo, Boyata.

David Platt Said:

“Mario has had an in and out season with his injury problems. He’s had a month off, a complete month of rehabilitation for this knee problem, and he’s come back, he’s looking strong, he’s looking quick, he’s looking sharp again.”

“The fact of the matter was he had done a week’s training, it was always on the programme yesterday he would play an hour, 65 minutes, and when he got the head injury Roberto just felt alright off you come.”

“He didn’t want to come off the pitch but in the cold light of day he understands that it is all part of his rehabilitation programme. He’s still only young, he’s only 20 years of age, but he’s got pace, he’s got power, goalscoring ability and funnily enough since he’s come back from this knee injury he seems a bit happier around the place.”

This was after he was substituted and threw another tantrum. Although more than likely, the reason for the substitution was the clash of heads with Krystian Pearce, which eventually left Mario receiving hospital treatment.

Yaya Toure, fellow team-mate of Mario Balotelli, said:

“Sometimes it’s difficult for him. He’s young but he’s a fantastic player and the team need him. It takes time because football here is not the same as in Italy. I feel sorry for him because he had a long-term injury. When you have been out for a while it’s not easy. He wants to play, score and give enjoyment to the fans.”

This in turn seems an accurate assessment from Yaya, Mario is a young, hungry footballer looking to make an impression in the Premier League. But has had a tough time of it due to lengthy injuries, which will have been another major factor in his frustrations against Notts County.

However one of the main talking points of the game was the substitution of Carlos Tevez for mario Balotelli, who refused to shake his team-mates hand, gave the evil eye to Mancini, then later turned the tantrum even further as he walked down the tunnel in disgust.

This was only half the story, he was substituted for the poor standard he was serving up and his general attitude towards the opponents, Notts County.

Roberto Mancini Said:

“We decided before the game to replace him after an hour.”

“It’s his first start after injury and he had a clash of heads. He was unhappy but I will explain to him in a couple of days. ”

“It’s not a problem. We want him fit for the next two months as we have a lot of games. He played well and didn’t have any problems with his knee.”

“We want to ease Mario back into action. He knew he would not play the full game. Sometimes in training when he misses a chance he holds his knee and then when he scores he doesn’t!”

Mario came on in the 75th minute, but failed to score against Greek side Aris Salonika.

After a tough 2 months out, Mario must impress if he is to get back into the starting line up with an impressive strikeforce at the club.

In the MEN it said:

“He came back early last week and started to train on the training pitch.

“We looked at it the other night and thought we should put him on the substitutes’ bench and if we could give him 15 minutes we would do so.

“That is what he got, but as part of his rehab programme. He is now back in his rehab programme and is in full-time training.

“He has done ever so well and that is why he was on the bench.

“By the time the weekend comes, he will have another week of training under his belt and will be available for selection if the manager picks him.”