Manchester City: With Sergio Aguero Injured, Should Mario Balotelli Start?

After undergoing a terribly trying week, where a 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich in midweek was coupled with a messy Carlos Tevez controversy, Manchester City shrugged off a groin injury to Sergio Aguero midway through the first half, eventually rolling to a 4-0 romp over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

Aguero has been a revelation since his summer transfer from Atletico Madrid, bagging eight goals in just seven Premier League matches.

The Argentine striker's groin will be a subject of much debate in coming weeks, as City continue their grueling fixture list in October, with a showdown against Manchester United on the 23rd surely highlighted upon the calendar.

Champions League play has undone sides before with its taxing midweek games, and City can ill-afford to lose players at this juncture of the season when their qualification into Europe's premier competition's knockout stages still in the balance.

Still, Mario Balotelli, somewhat of a forgotten figure in recent weeks amid the swirl of Carlos Tevez's antics and Aguero's sensational form, took his opportunity to start against Rovers with relish.

He showed the predatory instinct that once made him such a sensational prospect with Inter Milan.

The Ghanaian-born Italian was City's best forward in the first half, using dynamic movement and good hold-up play. He took his 59th minute goal with tried-and-true cool. This could be the start of something very good for the troubled forward.

With the severity of Aguero's injury still an unknown, Balotelli may well be called into a greater role in coming weeks. We know he has the quality, but can he show the temperament of a true world-class player?

Perhaps Carlos Tevez's latest antics will have been a good reminder for Balotelli of how being an enfant terrible can backfire. The enigmatic Italian is now into his 20s, and must begin showing some accountability for his actions. Hopefully he has learned well from the past week's antics.

In any event, Saturday was a very good start in the right direction.