Manchester City 2-0 Everton: Daily Mirror match report

Mario Balotelli isn’t your typical footballer.

Not many of his peers have confronted a school bully, given a tramp £1,000, tried to drive into a woman’s open prison, racked up £10,000 in parking fines or thrown darts at youth players.

These are just some of Balotelli’s antics at Manchester City and Roberto Mancini’s hair is greyer and his brow more furrowed since signing him.

But Balotelli’s team-mates don’t mind if he’s a bit zany if he keeps driving his opponents crazy.

And he left David Moyes and Everton hopping mad in frustration when he came off the bench to inspire City.

The Italian stretched Everton’s tired defence with his powerful running and converted Sergio Aguero’s lay-off to break the deadlock.

James Milner smiled at the description of Balotelli as being nuts but talented and says the players put up with the former because of the latter.

“That’s pretty accurate,” laughed the England midfielder. “He’s a top-quality player. You can see his quality every time he comes on.” Mancini feels an almost paternal bond with Balotelli having brought him through at Inter Milan and given him his debut when he was just 17.

He knows he is high-maintenance, but tolerates this because he knows he has all the tools to become one of the best strikers in the world.

Balotelli, who only turned 21 last month, is quick, aggressive, good in the air, two-footed and can play out wide or through the middle.

With all these attributes, it is little wonder that former golden boy Carlos Tevez has been relegated to fourth choice in the strikers’ pecking order.

“Mario is a great finisher,” said Mancini. “I know he’s a fantastic guy. He can become one of the top players if he understands he needs to work.”

City needed Balotelli, who will be suspended against Bayern Munich tomorrow, to make the difference because Everton’s well-organised ranks had frustrated them.

Moyes had correctly identified David Silva as the player who makes City’s slick machine tick and deployed man-marker Jack Rodwell to stifle him.

Balotelli’s introduction on the hour was perfectly timed by Mancini and eight minutes later he planted Aguero’s neat pass into the bottom corner, via Phil Jagielka’s leg.

But Everton claimed the throw-in before the goal should have been theirs because the ball had come off Samir Nasri.

With Plan A scuppered, Moyes sent Rodwell upfield to help find an equaliser and Silva, finally free to weave his magic, conjured up a second with an exquisite through-ball to Milner for him to record his first league goal for City.