Brendan Rodgers' Assistant Colin Pascoe Praises the 'Tremendous Talent' of Liverpool's Mario Balotelli

Liverpool assistant manager Colin Pascoe has lavished praise on the "tremendous talent" of Mario Balotelli after the striker inspired the Merseysiders victory over Swansea in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday, 29 October.

The 24-year-old misfiring striker was dropped to the bench after a struggling start to the life at Merseyside.

But on Tuesday he came on just in time in the second half to equalise Marvin Emnes' opener and inspire a dramatic comeback as Dejan Lovren scored the winner during injury time to lead Liverpool to the quarter-finals.

Liverpool Manager Brendan Rodgers' assistant believes Balotelli's second goal since his summer arrival to Anfield was a reward for his work during the training sessions and hopes he keeps the good run going in the upcoming games.

"Mario is working hard in training and he got his just reward by coming on and getting the goal. Of course [it's something for him to build on]. He works hard and I'm glad he got the goal," Pascoe said, according to Liverpool official website.

"He wants to work all the time. He's still a young lad, a tremendous talent and he wants to work on his movement and finishing. After every session, he wants to do that. For him, it was great for him to get the goal."

Furthermore, Pascoe revealed the Italian international had a pre-match injury concern after twisting his knee in the warm up at Anfield.

However, medical staff gave Balotelli the green light to play and it is expected he will be also ready for the trip to Newcastle on Saturday.

"He twisted his studs in the ground [in the warm-up] and he was sent in to see the physio to see if he was alright or not. He felt something in his knee, but as you saw, he came on and his knee looked alright," said Pascoe.

"We had to assess him, but he's fine. It was just a precaution. I didn't know until I came in at the end of the game, but the way he was moving about, I don't think there was much wrong with his knee!"