Balotelli posts goal celebration video on social media mid-match

Marseille's Mario Balotelli celebrates scoring their first goal by taking a selfie with teammates. (Reuters)

Paris - The Italian scored his fourth goal in six Ligue 1 games since joining Marseille from Nice in January

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By AFP

Published: Mon 4 Mar 2019, 6:08 PM

Last updated: Mon 4 Mar 2019, 8:11 PM

Mario Balotelli showed off a new goal celebration on Sunday as he took a selfie video with his Marseille teammates and posted it on social media during their 2-0 win over Saint-Etienne.
The Italian scored his fourth goal in six Ligue 1 games since joining Marseille from Nice in January by hooking home Florian Thauvin's 12th-minute corner with an excellent acrobatic volley.
"Balotelli takes the pressure, he takes the limelight. He reminds me of (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic and he scored an Ibrahimovic goal," said Saint-Etienne coach Jean-Louis Gasset.
"He has brought back the public, the confidence, and many of his teammates will raise their level of play."
As he celebrated his volley, Balotelli took a phone from the cameraman behind the goal before filming the video with his laughing teammates and posting it on his Instagram story.
The 28-year-old then carried on playing.
He was not the first player to produce a selfie-based celebration, after Roma great Francesco Totti took a picture of himself after scoring against Lazio in the capital-city derby in 2015.
Marseille doubled their advantage nine minutes later through a Thauvin penalty and closed out the win with ease.
Rudi Garcia's men have now taken 13 points from their last five league matches to leapfrog Saint-Etienne into fourth, just five points adrift of Lyon in the race for the third and final Champions League spot.
Earlier on Sunday, Moussa Dembele scored twice as Lyon thrashed Toulouse 5-1 to strengthen their grip on a top-three spot.
Bruno Genesio's Lyon, who are also through to the French Cup semifinals and claimed a 0-0 first-leg draw in the Champions League last 16 against Barcelona, continued their strong season by moving six points clear of fourth-placed Saint-Etienne.
"Often this season, we haven't been calm under pressure, but against Toulouse it was a good match," said Lyon captain Nabil Fekir, whose 21-year-old younger brother Yassin made his Ligue 1 debut as a 79th-minute substitute.
"Playing with my brother was a huge pleasure."
The home side took less than 10 minutes to break the deadlock at the Groupama Stadium as Memphis Depay fired home a wonderful individual goal.
Mathieu Dossevi levelled for Toulouse on the quarter-hour mark, but the visitors folded after Bertrand Traore restored Lyon's advantage in the 30th minute.
Nabil Fekir netted a penalty five minutes later, and former Celtic striker Dembele compounded Toulouse's misery in the second half. 
 

AFP

Published: Mon 4 Mar 2019, 6:08 PM

Last updated: Mon 4 Mar 2019, 8:11 PM

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