Did Mario Balotelli really get a standing ovation from Liverpool fans after doing the square root of nothing for 71 minutes against Aston Villa on Saturday evening? I thought players had to earn that kind of reaction, not just turn up and wear the shirt. Liverpool fans have rightly given standing ovations to some very special and hard-working players in the past. These supporters traditionally know their stuff, they demand a lot before giving their seal of approval. Mario Balotelli received an unwarranted standing ovation when subbed off on his Liverpool home debut Mario Balotelli was replaced by Rickie Lambert with 19 minutes remaining as Liverpool trailed 1-0
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Mario Balotelli was ineffective during his first Anfield appearance as Liverpool lost 1-0 to Aston Villa
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The Italian striker was replaced by Rickie Lambert after 71 minutes
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And the standing ovation he received was unwarranted
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Brendan Rodgers later admitted Balotelli was short of match fitness
If his match sharpness really isn’t there yet, as Brendan Rodgers seems to suggest, then I can’t understand why @placeholder didn’t start ahead of Balotelli.