Mario Balotelli Shines in Nostalgia: Marks First Serie A Appearance in Four Years with A Yellow Card

Andrea Pinamonti scored the crucial goal in the 79th minute as Genoa earned an important 1-0 victory over Parma at Ennio Tardini in a tightly fought Serie A battle on November 4, 2024. Parma had 55% possession and tried 13 shots, but they missed the target; Genoa got seven attempts on goal. Parma stayed 14th in the rankings with only nine points, hence their hardships were more severe as they lost their fourth straight defeat. Genoa, on the other hand, ascended to 17th position, therefore making a significant victory as they battled relegation. This marked one of Genoa's biggest days in football history as ‘Super Mario,’ aka Mario Balotelli, made his debut for the club in Serie A. 

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Mario Balotelli is back in Serie A after debuting for Genoa against Parma

Mario Balotelli made his first Serie A appearance in four years when he came on as a late substitute in Genoa’s 1-0 win over Parma on Monday and earned a yellow card within five minutes.

Balotelli came on in the 86th minute and was booked in injury time for a foul.

The former Italy international signed with relegation-threatened Genoa last week, having last played in Italy’s top division with hometown club Brescia in 2019-20.

Parma’s winless streak reached nine games with the loss, even though the host had the best of the first half with Valentin Mihaila and Anas Haj Mohamed coming close to opening the scoring.

But Genoa took control after the break as Morten Thorsby had a goal disallowed after 49 minutes and Andrea Pinamonti hit the post shortly after. Pinamonti scored the winner with 11 minutes remaining when he slotted home the rebound from Jeff Ekhator’s low shot.

It was Genoa’s first win since beating Monza on Aug. 24 and moves it off the bottom of the standings and into 17th place. Parma is 15th.

Also, Empoli earned its first home win of the Italian league season after a goal two minutes into the second half from Pietro Pellegri was enough to beat Como 1-0.

The on-loan Torino striker took advantage of poor defending before driving into the penalty box and scoring from an angle.

It was Empoli’s first goal at home this season. The club has scored only eight times in 11 matches but is still in 11th place in Serie A thanks to a strong defense that has conceded just nine times.

Como stayed in 16th.

(AP)