Mario Balotelli to the award. On 28 December, Balotelli scored his first Premier League hat-trick in a 4–0 win over Aston Villa. Despite this success, Balotelli still had disciplinary problems, and in March 2011, he was sent off in the second leg of Manchester City's Europa League draw with Dynamo Kyiv. On 14 May, Balotelli was named man of the match in the 2011 FA Cup Final as Manchester City defeated Stoke City 1–0 to win their first trophy in 35 years. Balotelli scored his first goal of the 2011–12 campaign in a 2–0 League Cup win against Birmingham City. He followed
Mario Balotelli City manager Roberto Mancini had repeatedly defended Balotelli, but he and footballer Daniele De Rossi believed Balotellki would need to grow up and mature if he was going to become the centrepiece of future Italian success. On 10 June 2012, Balotelli also became the first black player to appear for Italy in a major tournament (UEFA European Championship or FIFA World Cup) in a 1–1 draw against Spain, Italy's first match of UEFA Euro 2012. Italy and Spain later played each other for the second time in the tournament in Kiev. During the 1–1 draw, Balotelli failed to make an