Liverpool striker, Mario Balotelli has admitted he hadn't seen much of Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, before but believes he is good as Juventus midfielder, Andrea Pirlo.
Balotelli, who has played alongside Pirlo in the Italian national team, believes the former England captain is in the same league as the Juventus maestro.
"Gerrard is an amazing player. I had really not seen much of him before this season, apart from for England, but wow. I think of him as being at the same level as Pirlo," Balotelli told Sport Magazine.
"He has Vision, technique, but he is powerful as well. Stevie can do anything. It's going to be very difficult for the team to find another player like him in the future."
In Daniel Sturridge's absence, the Italian has been used as a lone striker in recent weeks but he has struggled to live up to the expectations so far.
"If it was my choice, I would always go with two strikers," Balotelli added.
"It's the way I like to play, but Brendan asked me to play as the first striker and I understand that when the ball comes from wide on the left or right, I need to be in the box otherwise there might be no-one there at all."
Mario Balotelli has made seven appearances for Liverpool so far this season but has only got on the score-sheet once.
Do you agree with Balotelli that Steven Gerrard is as good as Andrea Pirlo? Have your say in the comment section below.
