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 on as a substitute to score in his debut against Romanian side Politehnica Timișoara in a 1–0 away win in the UEFA Europa League, but during the match, injured the lateral meniscus in his right knee and on 8 September, underwent surgery that sidelined him until October. Balotelli eventually made his Premier League debut on 24 October as a substitute in a 3–0 home defeat to Arsenal, then made his first Premier League start on 30 October in a 2–1 away defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Balotelli scored his first and second Premier League goals on 7 November in a 2–0