Liverpool assistant manager Colin Pascoe believes Mario Balotelli fully deserved his first Premier League goal, which sealed a crucial victory over top-four rivals Tottenham on Tuesday night.
In a frenetic clash at Anfield, the sides were locked at 2-2 before the maverick Italian came off the bench to net the winner with seven minutes remaining.
Balotelli has struggled since arriving on Merseyside from AC Milan in the summer, and had been left out of the previous three squads by manager Brendan Rodgers.
But Pascoe said his goal was a reward for his hard work during his spell away from the first-team.
"Mario always works hard in training and recently he has been ill and he has had some knocks on his foot where he couldn't get his boot on," said the Welshman, standing in for Rodgers who had left to board a flight to watch a match in Europe on Wednesday.
"It is testament to himself, he kept going and got his reward."
Considering he had waited all season for the goal, the striker did not look particularly pleased with his effort.
In true Balotelli style, there was no celebration and straight after the final whistle he headed off down the tunnel without shaking hands with team-mates or opponents, or acknowledging the fans who still back him despite his disappointing campaign.
But Pascoe insisted: "He is immensely happy.
“To get a winner at Anfield, I am sure he is happy. Again, with Mario he knew he would have a part to play and he certainly did.”
The victory was vital to Liverpool's Champions League ambitions as it moved them within three points of third-placed Southampton, who have a match in hand, and Arsenal in fourth.
"We needed to win tonight to get closer to the top," added Pascoe.
"We always thought that. Our next [league] game is Southampton and we will look at that to get three points and keep closing the gap." See Balotelli's goal
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