The Technical Area – Analysing Balotelli’s First Liverpool Appearance

All eyes were on White Hart Lane last Sunday as Liverpool rolled up to face Tottenham with new boy Mario Balotelli on board for the first time. After tasting defeat at City in their previous match, Brendan Rodgers’ side returned to form in style, sweeping aside their previously unbeaten hosts with a 3-0 win which could easily have reaped further reward for the Reds’ Fantasy owners.

Balotelli may have failed to play a part in any of the Merseysiders’ three strikes, but after starting alongside Daniel Sturridge up front as Rodgers rolled out a midfield diamond, there’s hope he will retain his spot in the XI as the Reds brace themselves for a very kind run of fixtures.

As the average position map from the weekend encounter shows, Balotelli (number 45) found himself in possession in more withdrawn areas than strike partner Sturridge (number 15), with Raheem Sterling (number 13) almost on a par with the Italian at the tip of the midfield diamond.

Over his 61 minutes on the pitch, Balotelli produced a total of 38 touches, with 18 arriving in the final third. While this was fewer than Sturridge’s 26 and Sterling’s 23 in the attacking area, the new boy was just as involved overall as Sterling – an average of 1.6 minutes per touch equalled the youngster’s and was superior to Sturridge’s 2.6. The Liverpool players also sought out Balotelli at a quicker pace than his fellow forward – an average of 3.6 minutes per pass received was up on Sturridge’s 3.8 at the Lane.

When on the ball, the Italian international’s distribution left a lot to be desired, though. Balotelli made just eight successful passes over his time on the park – half the number of Sturridge (16) and also fewer than Sterling’s 11. A mere four accurate passes in the final third harbours back to the fact he produced just a single assist for City, though in a sense he can be forgiven, as this was his first match in Liverpool colours and he has yet to become accustomed to his team-mates. Indeed, an 80.6% pass accuracy for City in 2012/13 suggests he’ll soon improve upon a lowly 50% success rate.

In terms of goal threat, Balotelli registered some very impressive stats against Spurs. Despite playing 61 minutes to Sturridge’s 94, he registered double the number of touches in the box (four to two) and equalled his fellow forward’s five attempts on goal.

Crucially, though, four of Balotelli’s attempts arrived inside the area – essentially, he fired an effort with every touch in the penalty box – while Sturridge managed just two close-range attempts in their first appearance as a partnership. Sterling’s three efforts inside the box took his total to six close-range shots for the season – more than any other midfielder – and underlines just why many feel he’s near essential for the upcoming schedule.

Even when it came to work-rate, there was promise. After the match, Brendan Rodgers suggested that handing Balotelli more responsibility will bring out his best performances and, encouragingly for the Reds boss, the new signing challenged for four aerial duels – more than any other Liverpool player at the Lane and significantly up on his average of 1.7 in his final season at the Etihad. Defensively, his four recoveries and three clearances were also way better than his City 2012/13 stats (1.4 and 0.4 respectively) and also hints that he may well be prepared to buy into the Merseysiders’ team ethic; certainly, the numbers back up the fact that – as many onlookers noted – there was no standing around or posturing as the play went on around him.

Granted, 61 minutes is far from enough of a sample size to make any assumptions but Balotelli’s first match in a Reds shirt was encouraging both from a Liverpool and Fantasy perspective. At 10.0 to Sturridge’s 11.5 in the Fantasy Premier League game, though, there was certainly enough on offer from the new boy to indicate he may well be capable of rivalling his team-mate for both goals and our Fantasy affections over the upcoming run of fixtures.

*The Technical Area is put together using the statistics and maps available in our members area. For access to such data and tools on every player, team and match of the 2014/15 season, and for exclusive members articles like this, click here for details.