To be perfectly honest, I did not expect to see Mario Balotelli in Liverpool's starting line up for the visit of Hull City.
Given the amount of reaction incurred from fans, commentators and even his own manager, the most expected development would have been to see the Italian languishing on the bench.
Brendan Rodgers looked at it from a different perspective and gave Balotelli another chance. While that opportunity was symbolized by more missed opportunities in front of goal, how did Balotelli's overall game develop against Hull in comparison to the Real Madrid game?
Well, in terms of shots taken he managed the same tally of 2 in both matches. But statistically at least, the attacking side of his game was better against Real Madrid than it was against Steve Bruce's Tigers with his passing 18 per cent more accurate and the fact that he created two chances on Wednesday in comparison to the zero he managed at the weekend.
But it is in terms of defensive application that he improved slightly against Hull with the former Inter and Milan striker managing more tackles, interceptions and ball wins in the air - which isn't difficult given that he had a zero in all those categories in the Champions League.
That was also exemplified by the number of fouls he committed - 5 against Hull versus 0 against Real Madrid.
All stats are courtesy of statistics website Squawka. Learn more about Squawka and the free app by clicking here.
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