Jamie Redknapp: 'It was best for Liverpool that Mario Balotelli didn't score'

Jamie Redknapp believes that Liverpool have benefitted from Mario Balotelli not scoring against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Italy international made his debut for the Reds after joining from AC Milan for £16m last Monday.

The 24-year-old could have scored within the first three minutes, but the striker left the pitch after an hour without a goal as Liverpool eased to a 3-0 victory at White Hart Lane.

Despite having a number of chances to get his first goal for Liverpool, Redknapp believes that it was best for the club that he failed to score because the media attention on the controversial forward would have intensified.

"The best thing that happened to Liverpool on Sunday was Mario Balotelli not scoring," Redknapp wrote in the Daily Mail. "If he had, the game and the headlines would all be about him.

"Instead it was another team display that showed the gulf in class between Spurs and Liverpool. Balotelli bought into the work ethic and Brendan Rodgers will hope he keeps it up."

Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and summer signing Alberto Moreno were the scorers against Spurs.