Mario Balotelli’s performance in UEFA Nations League met with heavy criticism from the Italian media. The Azzurri scraped a 1-1 draw with Poland in the Nations League opener.
The italian media were furious, as Mario BIta Balotelli was voted worst player on the pitch by all the major newspapers.
“Slow progress. A desperate wandering between Glik and Bednarek who are in competition to see who can beat him to the ball first, after all there is no reaction from him.
“No desire to play until he is substituted,” wrote La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Apathetic, sluggish, harassed by the Polish defenders, he always plays with his back to goal. When he comes off, his gaze is at the floor, disappointment weighing him down,” noted the Corriere dello Sport.
“You can see, oh how you can see, that he is still a long way off peak fitness. This penalises him a great deal,” added Tuttosport.
“Aside from the fact, and that is not his fault, that he doesn’t get a single playable assist. The first shot, 36 minutes in, ends up in the Polish crowd.
“He limps off with a thigh problem amid jeers and applause: condemned to divide.”
