The striker is in awe of the Liverpool captain’s quality and believes his skill level is comparable with that of his legendary Italy team-mate

Steven Gerrard is every bit as good as Italy legend Andrea Pirlo, according to Liverpool new-boy Mario Balotelli.

Pirlo has enjoyed a prolific twilight to his illustrious career in recent years, winning three consecutive Serie A titles with Juventus, while Gerrard has re-moulded his game from the all-action displays of his youth to occupy a role similar to that of Pirlo at the base of the Liverpool midfield.

And Balotelli, who has had the privilege of playing alongside both men, admits he has been awed by Gerrard’s enduring quality and believes his skill level is comparable with the revered Juventus playmaker.

“Gerrard is an amazing player,” the 24-year-old told Sport. “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.

“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.”

Balotelli has so far struggled to fill the void left by the departed Luis Suarez since arriving at Anfield from AC Milan in a €20 million deal last summer.

He has scored just once in his first eight appearances and admits he is trying to adapt his game in new surroundings.

“I need to get in the box more,” he added. “I don’t do it enough, but it is something I am working to try to do more. I have never been a real, out-and-out striker – I have always been someone who goes around the pitch, you know?

“If it was my choice, I would always go with two strikers. It’s the way I like to play, but Brendan asked me to play as the first striker.

“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.”

Balotelli’s poor performances in 2014 have led to new Italy coach Antonio Conte omitting the forward from his two squad announcements.

The Liverpool winger did not start for England on Sunday after complaining of tiredness and the Manchester United assistant manager has sympathy for his position

Manchester United assistant manager Ryan Giggs sympathises with Raheem Sterling as the England winger’s tiredness becomes the subject of a club-versus-country row.

The 19-year-old, who has been in electric form for Liverpool and the Three Lions in 2014, was withdrawn from the starting XI to face Estonia on Sunday after complaining of fatigue to manager Roy Hodgson.

The England boss has since questioned Liverpool’s approach towards player recovery, a view for which he has been branded a “dinosaur” by fitness coach Raymond Verheijen, but Giggs feels that Sterling may have made the right call in being cautious.

“It’s tough when you’re a young player,” Giggs told Sky Sports News. “He’s an explosive player, he’s a player who is exciting, a player you would pay and go and watch.

“Unfortunately, he’s at Liverpool, who are our biggest rivals, but he’s a talented player and you have got to be careful when you’re a young player. It’s a short career and you have to look towards the future.

“Speaking from my own experience, I wanted to train every day, I wanted to play every day and I’m sure he’s no different.”

Sterling came off the bench in the second half as England won 1-0 in Tallinn.

The Uruguay star is closing in on a comeback but has reopened old wounds over an incident which occurred during his time in England

Luis Suarez has again protested his innocence over the clash with Patrice Evra which resulted in the then Liverpool striker being found guilty of racially abusing the Frenchman.

Suarez, who left Merseyside for Barcelona over the summer, admitted he has made mistakes in a controversial career but insisted he should not have been punished for his verbal spat with Evra during the Reds’ clash with Manchester United in October 2011.

The Football Association handed Suarez, 27, an eight-match ban and a €50,000 fine after studying video footage, details in the referee’s report and statements from other players on the pitch.

In a wide-ranging interview with Barcelona’s media channel, Suarez felt he had been incorrectly sanctioned.

“When I say I’m sorry it’s because I regret something,” he said. “Being sorry implies regret. But they have also sometimes judged me on things that aren’t true, such as the racism thing. I was accused without evidence and that’s what grieved me the most.

“The others were actions when it was me who did wrong. I accepted that and begged forgiveness, but the racism thing, when I was accused without evidence, that did upset me.”

The Uruguayan is currently serving a four-month suspension for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup – an act for which he expressed his regret.

He added: “It is good to accept that you have made a mistake and that’s what I did. I left it a few days because you have to remember that I’m only human and sometimes it’s hard to face the truth.

“I found it hard to take in and to realise what I had done. Those were days when I didn’t want to know about it. I just wanted to be with my wife and children, who supported me through that time. I didn’t want to listen to anybody, or speak to anybody. I didn’t want to accept it.”

Suarez scored twice for Uruguay in the 3-0 win over Oman on Monday as he builds up his fitness ahead of his long-awaited debut for Barcelona which is scheduled for a week on Saturday against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.