MY ACCOUNT
Mario Balotelli finished the Turkish Super Lig season in stunning fashion with the first five-goal haul in Adana Demirspor’s top-flight history.
Ninth in the table heading into Sunday, Balotelli’s ADS had little to play for against already-relegated Goztepe but put on a show.
Vincenzo Montella’s side ran out 7-0 winners, with Balotelli hitting five to finish the season on 18 league goals – behind only Kasimpasa’s Umut Bozok (20).
The Italy international’s outstanding display represented a club first, while Alex in May 2011 had been the last Super Lig player to net five in a match, for Fenerbahce against Ankaragucu.
This was Balotelli’s first hat-trick since scoring three for Manchester City against Aston Villa in December 2010, making him the first foreign player to hit a treble for ADS.
As if these achievements were not enough, Balotelli’s fifth goal was an outrageous effort perhaps set to be considered for the FIFA Puskas Award.
Seven step-overs tied Atakan Cankaya – who had earlier scored an own goal – in knots, finally working space seemingly for a left-footed shot before the striker executed a sublime right-footed rabona finish across the goalkeeper and into the bottom-right corner.
“Five goals for me today,” Balotelli posted on Instagram. “There was no better way to finish the championship! Thank you to everyone.”
