Brendan Rodgers on Mario Balotelli: 'In terms of goals he needs to improve'

Having scored only one goal from 19 shots in his first six matches at Liverpool, Mario Balotelli is facing more and more criticism for his inability to make an impact at the club.

His performance against Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday was particularly woeful as he registered only one shot on target through his 90 minutes on the pitch, while stringing together a sloppy pass completion rate of 65 percent. To make matters worse, he only touched the ball once in the Swiss side's penalty area.

The honeymoon faze between Balotelli and supporters of Liverpool appears to be over, and even Brendan Rodgers knows that he needs more from his Italian striker in front of goal.

"In terms of his behaviour he is consciously trying to work hard at the aspects of the game of which we demand here in terms of intensity and work-rate," Rodgers told the Guardian. "In terms of goals he needs to improve, it is as simple as that. Not just him but any striker is judged on goals and at this moment he hasn't probably hit the numbers he would want to."

Balotelli will have a chance to improve his numbers when Liverpool, who sit 14th in the Premier League table with seven points from their first six fixtures, host West Brom on Saturday.