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 their 1–1 draw against Ajax. Balotelli finished the season with a career high 18 league goals and a further 26 goals across all competitions. His strong form earned him a re-call to the Italy national team for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup four years prior. On 20 August 2018, Balotelli re-signed with Nice on a third consecutive one-year contract after a move to rivals Marseille fell through earlier in the summer. Balotelli was unable to answer call-ups to the Italian national under-15 and under-17 teams as he was still considered to be a Ghanaian immigrant. On