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As Mario Balotelli couldn’t play for Manchester City yesterday he spent the game entertaining others with magic tricks.

As is typical with Mario, just when you are in the mood to dislike him, he does something to get back in your good books.

After his disgraceful stamp on Scott Parker we thought that maybe, just maybe, our opinion of the Italian striker was starting to turn. But we have missed him these last few weeks so when he popped up on our screens last night we were delighted.

During the highlights of City’s 3-0 win over Fulham the camera cut to Balotelli in his executive box and as Sergio Aguero was doing tricks on the pitch Mario was doing a few himself.

The clip shows Mario make a can of coke disappear and while he isn’t in the David Blaine league just yet, we think he may have yet another talent to call on when his football career fizzles out.

However, we are sure that Roberto Mancini will be glad to have him back on the pitch, not up in the stands entertaining his guests.

We look forward to many stories of Mario sawing a woman in half at a bus stop in Reading and catching a bullet in his teeth while driving home from training hitting Twitter over the next few weeks.