Last Sunday at Rennes (0-1), Mario Balotelli ended his crazy week with a 4th goal, after the goal he scored against Waregem (1-5) and his brace against Monaco (4-0). The Italian, who has scored during half of his 34 matches in all competitions with the Gym (22 goals in total), seems to blossom in the 4-4-2 put in place by Lucien Favre since the derby. “It’s a system that suits him pretty well, explained the Swiss coach. He needs support up-front, he can’t be too isolated. He needs players around him, for us to be compact offensively. Then, he enjoys himself.”

M'en bati... pic.twitter.com/IzQFrosB67

— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) 18 septembre 2017

“Some important progress in my eyes”

Before achieving it with a masterpiece, the number 9 also put heart into the mix during this crucial week: “As in every system, it requires a collective effort to recover the ball, details Favre. He has already done better, individually winning back the ball and in letting his teammates, through his efforts, to do so. There are some small areas of progress, which are very important in my eyes. We need to move forward with the positive. He knows that he needs to do even more, but I think that it’s the first time that he has played 3 games in one week for a very long time.”

“A partnership that could cause a lot of damage”

Provider for two of Super Mario’s goals (against Monaco and then Zulte), Arnaud Souquet continues to provide more than his coach has asked: “He has maybe understood that we need him. We don’t ask him to run like us, because each of us has our own characteristics. When he does the minimum, it is enough for us because we know that he is capable of scoring. We have total confidence in Mario, and he is aware of that. Dante has told him it enough. Today he is bringing what he is capable of doing. And his partnership with Alassane (Plea), which is becoming even stronger than last season, can cause a lot of damage…”

F.H.

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