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Who Is Better: Mario Balotelli or Diego Costa?

Richard MorganFeb 17, 2014

AC Milan's mercurial and headline-grabbing forward Mario Balotelli and Atletico Madrid's prolific and lethal striker Diego Costa are currently two of world football's most coveted attacking players, but who is better of the deadly duo?

Well, as both men prepare to go head-to-head in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 clash at the San Siro on Wednesday night, we try and answer that question for you here.

All stats are provided by Squawka.

Tale of the Tape: Diego Costa

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Date of birth: Oct. 7, 1988

Age: 25

Height: 1.88 meters (6'2")

Club: Atletico Madrid

Shirt No: 19

Foot: Right

Place of birth: Lagarto, Brazil

National team: Brazil and Spain

Market value (according to Transfermarkt): ยฃ26.5 million

Agent: Gestifute

Tale of the Tape: Mario Balotelli

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Date of birth: Aug. 12, 1990

Age: 23

Height: 1.89 meters (6'2")

Club: AC Milan

Shirt No: 45

Foot: Right

Place of birth: Palermo, Italy

National team: Italy

Market value (according to Transfermarkt): ยฃ26.5 million

Agent: Mino Raiola

It's a Numbers Game: Diego Costa

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CompetitionMatchesGoalsAssistsSubbed onSubbed offMins
ย Champions League341-2194ย 
ย Primera Divisiรณn24214152044ย 
ย Copa del Rey51--1447ย 
ย Supercopa2---1168ย 

The Brazilian-born frontman has been in red-hot form in front of goal ever since he netted a brace in Atleti's opening Liga contest of the season at Sevilla back in August, with Costa having been banging the goals in on a regular basis ever since.

Whether it be in the league, the UEFA Champions League or the Copa del Rey, the 25-year-old has managed to hit the target 26 times in total.

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It's a Numbers Game: Mario Balotelli

4 of 8
CompetitionMatchesGoalsAssistsSubbed onSubbed offMins
ย Champions League6222-432ย 
ย CL-Quali21---180ย 
ย Serie A18103131498ย 
ย Coppa Italia11---90ย 

It has been just your usual action-packed campaign so far for Balo, full of wonder goals, controversial incidents, tears and incredibly for the first time ever in the 23-year-old's careerโ€”a missed penalty.

However, with 14 goals in total to date in all competitions for the struggling Rossoneri, Balotelli has been one of his club's few players who has actually performed to the standards expected of him at the San Siro.

In a League of His Own

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Costa, on the other hand, belongs very much to the latter category, as clearly demonstrated by his impressive attacking numbers for Diego Simeone's high-flying outfit so far in this campaignโ€”none more so than in La Liga.

In fact, no other player in any of Europe's top five leagues this season has contributed a higher percentage of his team's overall goals than Costa's 36 percent (21 strikes out of an Atletico total of 59 scored in La Liga).

One-Man Balo Show

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With Milan currently languishing down in an unfamiliar ninth position in Serie A, the one and only real bright spot for fans of the Italian giants so far this season has been the eye-catching form up front of Balotelli.

In particular, the Italy international has scored two of the best goals seen in the league all campaign against Livorno back in December and then against Bologna on Friday night.

However, in many ways, that entirely sums up the player's top-level career to date, with the youngster tending to be remembered more as a scorer of great goals than a great goalscorer.

Compare and Contrast

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Interestingly, however, ahead of their two teams' eagerly anticipated first meeting in Europe's premier club competition at the San Siro on Wednesday night, stats-based website Squawka has the two strikers running at just about neck and neck (see above) in their comparative overall performances in the league so far this season.

And while it is the Atleti forward who emerges on top when it comes to both the defensive and the attacking aspects of their respective games, it is the Rossoneri attacker's greater ability when in possession of the ball that just sees him end up with the slightly superior overall score of the two players.

And the Oscar Goes To...

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Of the two strikers on display here, there is no doubting that at present, Costa's form in front of goal is superior to that shown by Balotelli so far in this campaign.

The Atleti marksman has managed to register a highly impressive 26 goals and five assists in total in just 34 matches in all competitions for his team this season.

While in comparison, Balo has recorded just 14 strikes and five assists overall in his 27 games in all competitions for Clarence Seedorf's underperforming outfit.

However, those respective set of attacking numbers will count for nothing in the heat and intensity of a knockout round tie in the UEFA Champions League, and when it comes to providing a potent mix of both the spectacular and the unexpected, then there is no better frontman than Super Mario to call upon.

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