It's been a while since we've heard from you, Mario.
Having moved to Nice in 2016, Mario Balotelli has been getting on with things in a rather sedate manner. Roughly scoring a goal every other game, some may be forgiven for assuming that the 27-year-old Italian has mellowed somewhat.
Well, as Nice slumped to a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Napoli last night, scuppering their chances of reaching the Champions League group stages, Balotelli demonstrated something of his old self.
After being hemmed in for most of the first half, their 2-0 defeat in Naples a week before now seemed insurmountable for the listless Ligue I club.
Yet, as the second half began, Nice all of a sudden found themselves stricken with an additional impediment - they appeared to have only 10 men on the pitch.
As a quick break down the left allowed Marek Hamsik to cross the ball for José Callejòn who, with a deft finish, made it 1-0 on the night (effectively ending the tie), Balotelli had located himself on the touchline, engaged in a furious argument with the fourth official.
Apparently wearing a bracelet under his bandaged wrist (this is not allowed), Balotelli seemed impervious to the developments taking place on the pitch.
Balotelli's manager Lucien Favre has made his thoughts on the Italian's impact last night perfectly clear:
You have to be honest. I should have taken him off sooner. He didn't run enough. He didn't give enough. We played better when we put in his place a youngster [Knepe Ganago] who nobody knows.
Not noted for staying at any one club for too long, with his second season in France beginning on such a sour note, Balotelli may be on the move again quicker than expected.
