Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has slammed the performances and lack of team ethic from Mario Balotelli, reports the Express.
Balotelli has managed just one goal in seven appearances for the Reds since his summer move from AC Milan, and Carragher was left unimpressed with his performance as Liverpool crashed to a 1-0 defeat to Basel in the Champions League – a match in which the Italian failed to touch the ball once in the opposition penalty area.
“I think we need to see a lot more.
“I can’t hide the way I feel about him. When he was at [Manchester] City I wasn’t a fan. He’s got one goal [for Liverpool].“He’s away in Europe tonight and playing as a lone striker. You have got to sacrifice yourself for the team tonight – play for the team and work hard.
“If there’s one word that I’d never use to sum Balotelli up, [it] is sacrifice.”
Carragher also criticised the striker ahead of Liverpool’s Merseyside derby against Everton last week, a game in which the 24-year-old missed a glorious chance with the score at 1-0.”If intensity is the word you associate with Rodgers’ Liverpool, you would not use it to describe Mario Balotelli, Suarez’s replacement.”When he played for Manchester City, I wasn’t a fan and what I’ve seen so far hasn’t persuaded me to change my mind. He has a tendency to walk around, which I don’t like to see. He has to bust a gut more often to get in the box.”
