Colin Pascoe was pleased to see Mario Balotelli shake off a knock to make a telling contribution in Liverpool's Capital One Cup win over Swansea City.
With the hosts trailing to Marvin Emnes’ opener at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers turned to his enigmatic Italian striker.
Balotelli, who has struggled at times since securing a summer return to English football, did not disappoint as he netted within seven minutes of entering the action to setting up a thrilling finale.
Liverpool ended up edging over the line 2-1, with Federico Fernandez shown a late red card for the visitors before Dejan Lovren nodded home a 95th-minute winner.
Assistant manager Pascoe told Sky Sports afterwards when pressed on Balotelli’s impact: “When he came on, he made some great runs and, to be honest, his goal was fantastic.
“When you see the ball from Fabio (Borini), to put the ball in and the way Mario got on the end of it, was terrific.”
Pascoe has also revealed that Balotelli was nursing a knock prior to kick-off that threatened to end his involvement.
He told Liverpool’s official website: "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.
"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!"
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