Manchester City midfielder Nigel De Jong has praised Mario Balotelli after the striker put in an excellent performance in the 4-1 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
With Edin Dzeko, Samir Nasri and David Silva all on the bench against Alex McLeish’s men, and Sergio Aguero rested, the impetus was on Balotelli to provide the attacking spark for the Etihad Stadium outfit.
The Italy international opened the scoring for Roberto Mancini’s side in a comprehensive victory, and the De Jong feels he has finally got his attitude sorted.
“I think he is getting it now, why we always try to teach him a lesson. He is getting it slowly but surely,” the Netherlands international told City TV.
“You have to give him credit for the last couple of weeks, not just on the pitch but in the training sessions. He is behaving quite normal for him. Everyone is happy to be with him.
“Nobody ever doubted his qualities but with great qualities you need to have big responsibilities as well – not only on the pitch but outside as well. I think he showed that to the group and Manchester City as well in the last couple of weeks,” he continued.
City have an important week coming up as they host Villarreal firstly on Tuesday night in the Champions League, before taking on Manchester United next Sunday.
De Jong knows the importance of the games, which could have an early season influence on the team’s fortunes this campaign.
“They are two massive games. The Champions League is the first one and it is obvious we have to win that game to proceed to the next stage.
“After that is the United game, which will be a massive game, number one and number two against each other. We just have to prepare ourselves very well and focus again now,” he stated.
By Gareth McKnight
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