Why Mario Balotelli Is Under Most Pressure for Liverpool Following Everton Draw

Sometimes in football you just can't help last-minute wonder strikes like Phil Jagielka's screaming equaliser in front of the Kop to rescue a 1-1 draw for Everton at Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.

It was, if you'll pardon the pun, a bolt from the blue and a killer punch for Liverpool when it mattered most in a game they should have wrapped up long ago.

For while unexpected goals can come from nowhere and turn a result on its head, Liverpool could have avoided the scenario of hanging onto a 1-0 lead in the dying seconds of a game at home to their local rivals.

Steven Gerrard's goal from a free-kick on 65 minutes was late in coming, but a breakthrough nonetheless. Liverpool had, for the first time in three Premier League games, scored the crucial opening goal.

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Everton were forced to press higher up the pitch, taking more risks at the back, and Mario Balotelli should have doubled the Reds' lead just a few minutes after Gerrard's strike, inexplicably sending his shot from a Raheem Sterling cross over via the crossbar when it looked easier to score.

Falling over when in a counter-attacking move with Adam Lallana will have further infuriated Brendan Rodgers, who is relying on Balotelli to make up some of the 31 goals Luis Suarez provided last season.

The S word hasn't been thrown about too much by Liverpool fans at the matches this season with the now Barcelona forward a distant memory, but his creativity, engineering and attacking ammunition was sorely missed on Saturday as Liverpool failed to kill the game off.

Balotelli has a stormy personality to his game, moodily walking around Liverpool's front line of attack looking to get involved, but perhaps yet to find the appropriate cohesion with his teammates.

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Confrontations with James McCarthy, Gareth Barry, Tony Hibbert and Steven Naismith demonstrate he has the passion, fire and want to exceed. So perhaps this is what adhered fans to give him a standing ovation when he was substituted off for Rickie Lambert with two minutes to go.

And Rodgers praised the forward for keeping a cool head in the game, as Eleanor Crooks of The Independent reported.

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This is a game where emotions are high and it can be difficult. But you're going to be in with a greater chance to win as long as you've got 11 players on the field.

And I think overall in his time here he's responded very, very well. I thought his work-rate was excellent. His pressure, his physique at the top end of the field for us was very good and he looked like he could get a goal.

I was disappointed he didn't score but, as long as he's working well and working hard, he will get goals.

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Balotelli had previously provoked a rousing reaction from the Anfield faithful when he tracked back to make a tackle in midfield, the crowd seemingly encouraging this fight from the Italian, which is a far too rare occurrence.

Ian Herbert of the Independent was left rather baffled by Balotelli's lack of mental focus throughout the Merseyside derby, pointing to a series of unsettling events:

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But the noises he creates in the background of a game call into question how he can apply the mental focus that Rodgers is asking him for. The ball kicked away after a free kick was conceded after 20 minutes, which should have earned him the yellow card Naismith was in Atkinson’s ear about.

The baffling collapse to ground in the penalty area in the second half, when there had been barely a contact from Phil Jagielka.

The screams of anguish as he came under a hard, but fair, challenge from Tony Hibbert. The angry words for Javier Manquillo at a pass not delivered.

The spurned first half chance, skewed wide with his head from Raheem Sterling’s cross. All moments considered, the debit column was longer than the credit. It was a six out of ten performance.

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Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been unimpressed with Balotelli's Liverpool career so far, as per Alex Richards of the Mirror:

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Suarez set the tone, harrying and hassling. He defended from the front and is the best in the world at creating that relentless energy that swamped teams.

If intensity is the word you associate with Rodgers' Liverpool, you would not use it to describe Mario Balotelli, Suarez's replacement.

When he played for Manchester City, I wasn’t a fan and what I’ve seen so far hasn’t persuaded me to change my mind. He has a tendency to walk around, which I don’t like to see. He has to bust a gut more often to get in the box.

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Ultimately Balotelli's success at Liverpool will be measured by the amount of goals he scores. His current tally of just one strike from six matches so far needs to be improved, and where better to begin that the Champions League tie at FC Basel this week?

The pressure is on the 24-year-old's shoulders to work on his game.