JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images Mario Balotelli finally has reason to smile after scoring his first Premier League goal for Liverpool.
Liverpool has yet to recover from Luis Suarez’s move to Barcelona but maybe, just maybe the Reds have found a winning combination with Mario Balotelli and Daniel Sturridge.
Balotelli finally notched his first Premier League goal for Liverpool last week against Tottenham and on Saturday his free kick set up Adam Lallana’s winner in a 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup Round of 16. “Let’s try everything to get Steven Gerrard to Wembley step by step,” Balotelli posted on his Instagram account in reference to the Liverpool captain who will move to MLS after the season. A trip to Wembley would be a magical ending for Gerrard since the FA Cup final will be played May 30, the day Gerrard turns 35.
Balotelli has been a major disappointment since his move from AC Milan but he and Sturridge appear to be a formidable combination. Sturridge, who was sidelined for three months, scored the tying goal four minutes in the second half.
“We played a diamond earlier in the season and those two played together and did very well. We’ve shifted the system from the last time we were here but certainly when (Sturridge and Balotelli) are up there, they’re a threat,” said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers. “They’re both talented players so they can function in whatever system they’re in.”
Liverpool needs to get its act together quickly. The Reds currently sit in seventh place in the Premier League with 42 points and over the next two weeks they’ll play two clubs ahead of them, Southampton and Manchester City.
TAKE A SEAT
Believe it or not but even the richest clubs in the world have issues. Rich issues that is.
Stevan Jovetic is upset that Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has left him off the squad for a Feb. 24 Champions League match against Barcelona.
“I deserve to play in the Champions League, I know that,” Jovetic told The Mirror.
“I have spent all week thinking about it and when we play Barcelona I think it will be very difficult for me, I think I helped the team get through the group and, because of that, I am very unhappy that I am out.
“This year, every time I have played, I think I have done well. I have scored five goals in the Premier League without having too many minutes on the pitch. I know that we can all have disappointments — that’s football — but I am hurting really bad right now.”
The arrival of Wilfried Bony from Swansea has made Jovetic expendable and there is already talk of the former Fiorentina striker heading back to Italy over the summer.
BECKHAM’S SON MOVING ON UP
Is the soccer world ready for another Becks?
David Beckham’s oldest son, 15-year-old Brooklyn, was called up to Arsenal’s U-18 squad but did not play in a 1-0 win over Leicester. Brooklyn’s famous father was in attendance.
In case you’re wondering, Messi’s son Thiago, turns 3 in November.
“The manager has killed me with this decision,” he said. “I feel I deserve my place and other people have told me the same. People have told me I am a great player, but it is clear that the manager doesn’t think the same way.
“I am very disappointed, even now. I don’t think it was a good decision — or the right decision.”
JOSE VS. ZLATAN
We are headed for an epic showdown on Tuesday with Paris Saint-Germain set to play Chelsea in the Champions League Round of 16. And we’re just talking about the battle of the post-match press conferences featuring Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
As for the match, PSG will be a shorthanded. Marquinhos, Serge Aurier, Yohan Cabaye and Lucas Moura all missed Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Caen with injuries and manager Laurent Blanc has ruled them out vs. Chelsea, who knocked out the French side last year.
“Yes, the result of last year hurt but they are in the past. In your life and in your career things like that happen and they stay behind,” PSG’s Edinson Cavani told The Sun. “They help you grow and become stronger. This is another chance we have — and I have — against Chelsea.”
FYI: After Ibrahimovic scored on Sunday he ripped off his shirt to display a temporary tattoo to draw awareness to the World Food Programme. The tattoos were names of 50 children suffering from hunger.
ONE-DERFUL
The dream continues for Bradford City. The League One upstart defeated Premier League side Sunderland 2-0 on Sunday to advance the quarterfinals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1976. The draw for the final right will be held today.
The defending FA Cup champions, Arsenal, reached the quarters on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Middleborough. Olivier Giroud scored twice over 135 seconds as Gabriel Paulista also played well in his Arsenal debut. Meanwhile, Tim Sherwood picked up his first win as Aston Villa manager in a 2-1 win over Leicester.
HATS OFF AGAIN
The Dog Bites Man equivalent in the La Liga is Lionel Messi recording a hat trick. Messi notched his fifth hat trick this season in a 5-0 win over Levante. In 300 league matches, the 27-year-old Messi has scored 269 goals including 23 hat tricks.
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku is being linked to a possible move to Tottenham or West Ham over the summer. West Ham suffered a big blow this week as Andy Carroll tore a ligament in his left knee during a 0-0 draw with Southampton on Wednesday. He will miss the rest of the Premier League season.
Bayern Munich prepped for Tuesday’s Champions League match with Shakhtar Donetsk by beating Hamburg 8-0 on Saturday.
Mario Gotze, the hero of the World Cup, Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben all scored twice for Bayern.
Recommended article: Chomsky: We Are All – Fill in the Blank.
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