Balotelli's prolific Ligue 1 start bested only by Ibrahimovic
In just five matches, Mario Balotelli has gone from an ill-disciplined maverick entering a last-chance saloon in France to one of the most fearsome gunslingers on the continent.
His start at Nice has seen him fire six goals in five showings, a return to a Ligue 1 career that is only trumped by Zlatan Ibrahimovic's seven goals in his first five outings at Paris Saint-Germain in 2012.
Balotelli troubled the scoresheet once again in Nice's 4-1 win over Nantes on Sunday to retain top spot and a six-point cushion over Monaco and reigning champion PSG.
Related: Balotelli shines as Nice stretches lead atop Ligue 1
"He made a great run for his goal. He's very good in those sorts of situations," Nice manager Lucien Favre told the club website, with translation from ESPN FC's Ian Holyman. "He had had a week of complete rest and then a normal week.
"I have said it again and again: there is still a lot of work to do. Today, he did more tracking back than he had done previously. It's positive."
The 26-year-old's impact has been one of the greatest individual surprises across Europe's top five leagues, and has seen the striker edge back towards consideration for a return to the Italy national team setup. Balotelli hasn't appeared for his country since the 2014 World Cup due to continued questions over his attitude, but most destructive was his drab form in spells at Liverpool and AC Milan.
Should he force his way into Giampiero Ventura's plans, he may find a few hurdles in his bid for a spot in the starting XI - particularly given the recent form of Ciro Immobile, who has seven goals in his last five matches for Lazio.