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How Mario Balotelli's Brescia homecoming turned into a nightmare | Nicky Bandini

The striker’s return to the town where he grew up has become a battle between him and the local club’s owner, Massimo CellinoMario Balotelli’s stomach ache returned over the weekend. The Brescia striker had only been allowed back into his club’s training base last Wednesday after six days off with gastroenteritis. He was scheduled for a pair of individual workouts on Saturday but left the facility after completing the first, having suffered an apparent relapse. A post on his Instagram Stories simply said: “Sick.”Hours earlier, he had shared a video of himself on the same platform, still sweating from the morning practice session. “Stop asking if I’m going to training or not,” he said. “I’m going to training guys. I...

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Football’s lost boys Morrison and Balotelli seek redemption and stir nostalgia | Richard Williams

Ravel Morrison’s fine strike for the Mexican side Atlas and the news that Mario Balotelli has rediscovered his goalscoring touch at Nice will have us wondering, yet again, if these great talents can come into sharp and sustained focusThirty yards from goal, the player controls the short square pass on the half-turn before moving smoothly forward. Two light touches, a stepover, two more touches to veer away from a second defender, then a left-footed shot from a yard outside the edge of the penalty area, carefully measured inside the left‑hand post.“MORRI-SON! MORRI-SON! MORRI‑SON! MORRI‑SON!” The Mexican TV commentator is going crazy. It is only a friendly during the international break but he thinks he has seen the future. Related: Juan...

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Tottenham state their title credentials – Football Weekly

Spurs beat Manchester City to go second in the Premier League. Plus: Barcelona come unstuck at Celta Vigo and Aston Villa sack Roberto Di MatteoSubscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastIt’s the year 5777, and on today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by fellow jetsetters Barry Glendenning, Iain Macintosh and Jacob Steinberg. Continue reading...

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