Mario Balotelli lashes home excellent first-time strike in Ligue 1

The Italian striker continues to impress on his French adventure, and scored his 13th goal in 19 appearances in all competitions for 2017/18 on Sunday.

With the game tied at 1-1, Balotelli delivered the necessary moment of magic to put the visitors into the lead.

On the counter-attack, Balotelli picked up Alain Saint-Maximin's pass and caught everybody off guard – including goalkeeper Anton Tatarusanu, crucially – by striking the ball first-time into the bottom corner.

The 27-year-old's celebration, of course, was nothing more than nonchalant (although he did go on to celebrate with a pitch-invader). 

Nice held on to their one-goal lead which secured the south coast outfit a crucial victory – their third in a row, which lifts them up to eighth. 

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