Manchester City's Mario Balotelli was taken off in the first half of a pre-season friendly 季前友誼賽 at LA Galaxy for not taking the game seriously.

The 20-year-old Italian striker was through on goal 進球機會就在前方 but, instead of shooting, decided to try a trick shot by backheeling 用腳后跟踢球 it into the goal. The only problem was… he missed.

"I hope this is a lesson for him. If you are serious, you can play 90 minutes. If not, you can come and sit by me on the bench," said City boss Roberto Mancini.

City won a third game of their pre-season tour of the United States, shading it 微小的勝利 7-6 on penalties after it had finished 1-1.

But the match was overshadowed 使…黯然失色的 by Balotelli's showboating 賣弄炫耀, which prompted jeers 噓聲 from the crowd.

Mancini argued with Balotelli as the forward left the pitch. Prior to his removal, the young striker had scored a penalty. But it wasn’t enough to keep him out of the manager’s bad books 不惹經理厭煩。

Balotelli threw his water bottle onto the floor after eventually taking his place in the dug-out 教練和替補隊員席 and did not appear to watch the second half.

"Mario is young, I want to help him and that is the end of it. To take him off after 30 minutes is enough punishment. It won't have been easy for him but it has to be a lesson," added Mancini.

It’s not the first time the player has been in trouble. Balotelli inflamed 使動怒 several Manchester United players after he taunted the crowd 嘲弄挑逗群眾 following City's FA Cup semi-final win last April.

And he was also involved in a prank 惡作劇 where he threw a dart 標槍 at a City youth team player last March.