On the pitch—
The Etihad erupted with deafening noise!
At the center circle, Balotelli played a short pass sideways.
After laying it off to Tevez beside him, the Italian prodigy lowered his head and charged forward into Crystal Palace's half!
Cheers broke out across the stands!
On the sidelines, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini stood with his arms crossed, watching the field with a stoic expression.
For this match, he had deliberately placed the previously in-form Džeko on the bench.
Instead, he paired Tevez with Balotelli up front.
His intention was clear—
He wanted this Italian genius to fully showcase his brilliance before the world!
In Mancini's view,
Crystal Palace's dimly lit defense stood no chance against Balotelli's ferocity.
This Manchester City rising star would prove to the world what true talent looked like—how it controlled the rhythm of a match!
Indeed, Balotelli's desire to shine in this game was intense.
Right from kickoff, he stormed deep into Palace's defensive lines.
City's luxurious squad attacked with overwhelming momentum.
But Crystal Palace's backline held their ground, steadily executing the tactics they had drilled during training.
They used tight formations to make up for individual weaknesses.
The entire team compressed tightly into a compact shape.
Kai dropped from the No. 10 position to a deeper No. 4 role to help organize possession.
Still, Balotelli danced through the back line with threatening runs.
At 189 cm tall and with instinctive movement,
The Manchester City star was already creating real problems for Palace's defense.
He was playing with a chip on his shoulder.
Why?
Because for nearly half a year, he had been the undisputed frontrunner for this year's Golden Boy award.
But then…
A 16-year-old from out of nowhere—Kai—crashed into the spotlight and broke the narrative.
For Balotelli, who'd grown up showered in praise, this was unbearable.
His agent, Mino Raiola, often brainwashed him:
"You only need to give 20% effort to reach goals others can't touch in their entire lives."
Balotelli wasn't the sharpest mentally—
So he fully believed Raiola's flattery.
He truly thought he was the only true genius in modern football.
And early on in this match,
City's midfield and forward combinations showed their Premier League pedigree—
Their pace in both build-up and transition was clearly superior to Palace's.
On the sidelines, Holloway looked tense.
His fists clenched inside his pockets.
On the field,
Fueled by the roars of the Blue Moon faithful—
11th minute!
A brutal attack from City's left wing!
The evergreen French ironman Patrick Vieira intercepted Ambrose in midfield.
Then, a delicate through pass—
Straight to the feet of David Silva!
A burst of cheers exploded from the stands!
Many younger fans, misled by video games, assumed Vieira was just a physical "brick wall" type.
But in truth, the tall, long-legged French midfielder was a technician in disguise.
Silva received the perfect pass—
With a lateral move, he shook his marker.
Then delivered a chipped ball over the top!
Yaya Touré surged forward to receive it!
With a powerful touch, he squared the ball across the box!
Crystal Palace fans gasped in horror—
City's star-studded midfield was unstoppable!
In the middle of the pitch,
Waiting for the ball's arrival—
Was none other than Mario Balotelli!
City fans lit up in anticipation!
He wound up his thigh—
And struck from distance just outside the box!
"Balotelli's first shot of the match!"
"A strike from the edge of the penalty area!"
"Oof! The curve was beautiful at first… but the ball suddenly lost spin halfway and flew straight into the stands!"
A collective groan echoed around the Etihad!
But before fans could react—
A sharp whistle rang out!
The referee had called a foul!
City were awarded a free kick just outside the box!
Away supporters from Palace booed loudly—
But their voices were quickly drowned out by the cheers of City's home crowd.
"What happened? Oh, Balotelli was fouled right as he shot—
The ref blew immediately. No yellow card, but he awarded City a dangerous free kick!"
"Balotelli's been very active in the first half so far!"
The home commentary team couldn't hide their glee.
This was exactly the kind of pressure they wanted to see.
Only ten minutes in, and Balotelli was already bombarding Palace's goal.
To Manchester locals, it was only a matter of time before the scoreline changed.
On the field—
With chants booming around him—
Balotelli waved off David Silva, City's usual free-kick taker.
He insisted on taking it himself.
The whistle blew.
He ran up.
Struck the ball.
It soared just over the crossbar to the sound of a collective sigh!
"Balotelli's trying too hard to prove himself!"
"He's desperate to score first and slap that 16-year-old kid in the face!"
The commentators sympathized with the miss.
City had already threatened Palace's goal twice in just over ten minutes!
In the stands, Raiola spat in frustration.
"That brainless clown! Always firing wildly!"
Nearby, Crystal Palace fans were shocked.
In the public eye, Raiola and Balotelli were thought to be like father and son.
"How can you talk about your own genius like that?"
Raiola just shrugged and didn't respond.
But in his heart, he kept grumbling:
"Did I say anything wrong? If Mario would just use his brain, I wouldn't need to work this hard to secure his Golden Boy award!"
On the pitch,
Completely unaware of the drama in the stands,
Balotelli was still quite pleased with himself over those two wild shots.
He didn't even move from his spot.
Just turned his head and locked his eyes on Kai jogging past.
"Hey, I bet you won't even get a single shot on target in the first half.
Wait—you're a midfielder, right? Then I bet you won't complete a single threatening pass!"
He leaned closer, voice dripping with disdain.
"You don't belong on a stage like this. Go back to your second-tier fairy tale."
Kai turned to him calmly, eyes icy and unwavering.
"You talk like the match is over already."
He paused for a moment, then added with a chill in his voice:
"Keep running your mouth, Balotelli. I'll let my football shut it for good."
Balotelli froze in shock.
The next second—
His eyes filled with rage and hysteria!
Then, during an off-ball moment, he shoved Balotelli aside and burst forward toward an incoming pass.
Balotelli was still stuck in shock from the exchange.
Meanwhile, in the Etihad, thousands of cameras snapped simultaneously—
They captured the confrontation just in time!
The two Golden Boy contenders—
Kai and Balotelli—
Had just clashed in a dramatic and unexpected way!
After the confrontation, Balotelli looked stunned and motionless for several seconds.
In the stands, Raiola shouted even louder.
He looked like he wanted to run onto the pitch and beat Balotelli senseless.
Fans couldn't hear what had been said,
But lip-reading experts were already analyzing the footage at lightning speed.
However—
The match didn't wait!
Kai controlled the ball after receiving a pass from the back.
With the vision of a god—
He instantly saw the full layout of the pitch!
After enduring City's early onslaught…
And the mental clash with Balotelli…
Kai made a decision—
He would no longer hold back!
He would use pure, individual brilliance
To crack the game open for Palace!
And at the same time—
This would be the third act of his takedown in this ridiculous Golden Boy drama.