Balotelli looking like the genuine article

THERE WERE SERIOUS question marks over Liverpool’s wisdom in signing Mario Balotelli as Luis Suarez’s ostensible replacement just prior to the summer transfer window’s closure.

Indeed, Brendan Rodgers himself famously expressed reservations about buying the striker.

At just 24, he has already played for five different clubs, and training ground bust-ups with past managers among countless other problems have served to accentuate his erratic reputation.

Nevertheless, since signing for Liverpool, Balotelli is finally showing signs of maturity.

Rodgers appears to have brought some much-needed discipline to his play, and up until Tuesday, the only element of his game missing was the goals that have seldom been a problem for the star – he managed 26 in 43 appearances at Milan.

Yet against Ludogorets, he played a big role in rescuing Liverpool from a difficult situation, inevitably silencing critics in the process, as he scored the game’s all-important opening goal in typically opportunistic fashion.

City lose the midfield battle and, eventually, the match

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On the one hand, City’s performance last night was far from disastrous.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side were less than five minutes away from securing a draw away to Bayern Munich — one of the best sides in Europe and surely one of the top contenders for the Champions League trophy, having appeared in three of the last five finals of the competition.

Yet, at this stage, are City fans entitled to expect more than a ‘brave’ defeat?

Despite so many millions being ploughed into the Eastlands outfit, they were clearly second best throughout the game — in addition to fortuitously avoiding a red card after almost bringing down Thomas Muller in the opening minute, Joe Hart made a string of terrific saves to deny the hosts until late on.

So perhaps it is the manner of the performance rather than the result that will be of most concern to Manuel Pellegrini. In particular, City’s midfield were dominated by their German counterparts, with Fernandinho and especially Yaya Toure looking lethargic and considerably inferior to the more technically accomplished likes of Philipp Lahm and Xabi Alonso.

Arsenal still defensively vulnerable in big games

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Against the smaller teams last year, Arsenal’s defensive record was practically impeccable.

Statistically, everything looked relatively positive, as Arsene Wenger’s men had the fourth best defensive record in the league and the joint best home record, conceding just 11 times at the Emirates.

Nevertheless, occasionally, they tended to fall apart at the back, conceding five against Liverpool and six in matches with both City and Chelsea.

During the summer, they brought in inexperienced teenager Calum Chambers and 28-year-old French full-back Mathieu Debuchy – decent acquisitions but hardly players who will bolster the back four considerably.

While they were hardly thumped against Dortmund on Tuesday, the old familiar flaws were apparent. All four defenders looked uncertain at times and in particular, for the goals (see above), while Mikel Arteta failed to offer adequate protection in the holding role.

So unless some major issues are rectified imminently, the Gunners will surely continue to struggle at the highest level.

Has Chelsea’s squad depth been exaggerated?

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(Schalke’s Julian Draxler demonstrates a sublime piece of skill)

Chelsea have rightly received countless plaudits for their excellent early-season Premier League form, and they were consequently expected to breeze past Schalke in this week’s Champions League encounter.

In stark contrast with the Londoners, the Germans have failed to win any of their first four Bundesliga games and were coming to Stamford Bridge with several first-choice players injured, including captain Benedikt Howedes.

Yet there were shades of last season’s games against sides such as Sunderland and Crystal Palace yesterday, as Jose Mourinho’s men laboured to a draw against a patently inferior outfit.

Moreover, another recurring theme from last year was their ineptitude up front. Main striker Diego Costa was only introduced with just 15 minutes remaining, and 36-year-old Didier Drogba gave a less-than-vintage performance in the Spanish striker’s absence, failing to show the killer instinct that was regularly evident in the Ivorian’s prime, as Chelsea’s European campaign stuttered at the first hurdle.

Have we seen the next Barca star?

An unconvincing 1-0 Barcelona home victory over APOEL Nicosia may not seem like the type of game that will be remembered in years to come, but then neither did their 2004 La Liga win away to Espanyol by the same scoreline.

However, on the latter occasion, a 17-year-old Lionel Messi made his debut for the club, whereas last night, 19-year-old Sergi Samper appeared in Barca’s colours for the first time at senior level.

Of course, the youngster can hardly be expected to even get close to emulating the achievements of Messi — after all, this highly promising individual is a defensive midfielder first and foremost.

Yet his assured debut last night gave the impression that he could be the latest Catalan player to became a renowned star, producing more passes than anyone else on the field and completing 98 out of 107 attempts.

And what makes his elevation so impressive and refreshing is that Samper is as homegrown as footballers come — signed by the club at the age of six, he has captained the Barca youth teams at every level, attracting interest from Arsenal in the process.

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