Former
Aston Villa striker Alan McInally has urged Mario Balotelli to avoid
bust-ups on the pitch and focus his efforts on scoring goals for
Liverpool.
The Italian became
embroiled in a heated row with Swansea’s Jonjo Shelvey in the latter
stages of Liverpool’s 2-1 win in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.
Balotelli
had earlier inspired Liverpool’s fightback with the first goal after
coming on as a substitute and McInally believes the striker has to rise
above such arguments on the pitch.
He told The Morning View on Sky Sports News HQ, “He doesn’t need this ‘let’s have a fight (mentality)’. He does take the bait too easy.
“He’s
using a lot of energy he doesn’t need to use – mental energy, looking
over your shoulder all the time. He is a very talented footballer. He is
going to get goaded all the time.
“On
Saturday when he starts a game, an (opponent) will be like ‘get into
Balotelli, make him upset and think about other things’ rather than what
he’s good at, which is playing football.”
Preston’s
experienced striker Kevin Davies agrees that opposing defenders will
attempt to provoke Balotelli if he cannot keep his composure.
He
said, “You’ve got to rise above it. I’ve played with people like El
Hadji Diouf. The opposition will say to you, ‘get in his face, and wind
him up’.
“He’s not a kid any more,
just concentrate on playing. It comes with the territory as he’s a bit
of a maverick, but he needs to do his talking on the pitch.”
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