EPL: Mario Balotelli steals the spotlight to down Spurs

Liverpool Mario Balotelli scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool as the Italians late strike secured a 32 win over Tottenham on Tuesday that boosted their hopes of a topfour finishLiverpool striker Mario Balotelli right scores against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Tuesday PicGetty Images Brendan Rodgers side had twice led through Lazar Markovic and a Steven Gerrard penalty only to be pegged back by goals from Harry Kane and Mousa Dembele in a thrilling encounter at AnfieldBalotelli who hadnt scored a league goal since arriving from AC Milan in August came off the bench to deliver the decisive blow with seven minutes left when he tapped home to secure a vital success against one of Liverpools rivals for a Champions League spotWith Raheem Sterling out with a foot injury Rodgers gave his place to fitagain England striker Daniel Sturridge who made his first start since August Jordon Ibe Gerrard and Markovic were also in Rodgers starting lineup while Tottenham were unchanged from the side which beat Arsenal in the north London derbySturridge seized on a weak back pass from Ryan Mason early on and broke clear into the box but his finish was not quite as sharp and Hugo Lloris gathered comfortablyThere was significantly more conviction from a fierce Sturridge angled shot moments later having been teed up by Markovic only for the unsighted Lloris to produce a superb diving save However the France international will feel he should have done much better with Liverpools opening goal in the 15th minuteA long high ball controlled by Sturridge found its way to the Serbia international who effortlessly glided to the left edge of the area and saw his low shot albeit not the most powerful squirm past the weak hand offered by Spurs goalkeeper Kane had already showed the kind of confidence currently surging through his veins with a speculative effort from the halfway lineAnd Kane took his tally in the Premier League to 13 goals more than any Spurs striker managed in the whole of last season when he finished off a slick passing move from the visitors just before the halfhour markA clever exchange involving Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela saw space open up inside the box for Kane and he capitalised on Mamadou Sakhos slip to fire the ball into the net off Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet Advantage reassertedYoung winger Ibe once again a menace with his aggressive direct running and quick feet on the right flank cut inside and unleashed a powerful shot which stung the palms of Lloris while a Sturridge backheel hit the post as the hosts finished the first half in the ascendancyThat advantage was quickly reasserted when Liverpool were awarded a penalty shortly after the break as Sturridge tumbled under a clumsy challenge from Danny Rose and Gerrard confidently struck the spotkick past LlorisMignolet tipped a sweet strike from Lamela over the crossbar before the visitors fought back to level matters for a second time on the hour Eriksens dipping freekick was parried by Mignolet and Kane scuffed it into the sixyard box for Dembele who bundled the ball over the line from close rangeBalotelli replaced Sturridge in the 74th minute and Rodgers also introduced Adam Lallana the duo rewarded their manager by combining to devastating effect for Liverpools winner With seven minutes left on the clock Lallana fired a low cross into the penalty area and there was Balotelli on hand to tap the ball past Lloris from close range to send Anfield into raptures