Balotelli must get used to life on the bench, says Man City boss Mancini
Saturday 22 September 2012
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli must accept that sometimes he will only be a substitute - if he is in the squad at all - Roberto Mancini has insisted, telling the Italy striker that the Premier League champions have a number of strikers available and cannot select them all, according to , the Daily Telegraph.
Balotelli was not selected in the squad to play Real Madrid in midweek, with Mancini instead preferring to go with Carlos Tevez from the outset and keep Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero on the bench in reserve. That meant, Mancini explained, he could not name Balotelli as well as he would then have three strikers out of seven substitutes, which is one too many.
The Telegraph adds that Balotelli is unlikely to play from the start in City’s Premier League fixture against Arsenal on Sunday, although he will at least watch the portion of the match in which he does not play from the bench, rather than the stands as he did against Madrid.
Mancini said: “[Balotelli] was upset about not being involved, that’s normal. I don’t think there can be a player who doesn’t play and is happy. Mario went to the stand because we decided to play with only [Carlos] Tevez. Mario is a player like other players - when he is on the bench sometimes he doesn’t understand.”
See what the expert tipsters at OLBG are tipping on Man City v Arsenal
Related Articles
|