Thursday, 23rd October, 2014
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has bristled at being bombarded with questions about Mario Balotelli today.
Balotelli's performances since he arrived at Liverpool in the summer from AC Milan have been widely criticised and last night he swapped shirts with Real Madrid defender Pepe at half-time, with the score 3-0 to Los Blancos, in a Champions League clash.
That has been widely slammed from all corners and combined with the fact that Balotelli has scored just once for the Reds, means the pressure is on the Italian.
Rodgers was questioned numerous times about Balotelli at a press conference today and, clearly annoyed, replied: "Is this the Mario Balotelli press conference?"
relatedNewsStory
Rodgers also admitted that Balotelli is not hitting the level of performance he would like at present.
"Listen, he's like every other player.
"He wants to score, he wants to score goals and at this moment in time he's not."
The Liverpool manager does feel Balotelli is doing his best though and claims the former Manchester City man is putting in a shift in training.
"The boy is genuinely trying very hard. Longer term we'll see how that works out for him.
"He is working hard on the training field."
Don't bet on football until you've visited Inside Bet! Interesting markets, top tips, betting facts – get all the info before you bet.
