Mario Balotelli looked like a man reborn for Nice last season.

Seventeen goals across all competitions represented a decent return for the Italian after he joined the Ligue 1 side from Liverpool for free 12 months ago.

His return to the Premier League in 2014 was not a happy one as the former Manchester City striker scored just once in the Premier League for the Reds - hence the decision to move to France.

But Balotelli has certainly looked back to somewhere close to his best since linking up with Lucien Favre in Nice.

His performances were so impressive he had even been linked with moving to some big clubs - including Borussia Dortmund and Marseille - at the end of the campaign.

Nevertheless, Balotelli opted to stay at Nice and lead their charge in the Champions League.

And if his first showing during pre-season is anything to go by, it looks like he is ready to pick up exactly where he left off last term.

As teams around Europe start stepping up their preparations for the new season, Nice recently took on Swiss side Servette - picking up a relatively comfortable 3-1 win.

Balotelli opened the scoring with a sweetly struck free-kick from just over 20 yards out.

As you can see by the video below, Balotelli's curling effort left the keeper completely stranded.

The Nice star came close to adding a second later on when he hit the bar with a long-range effort after a flare let off by a fan had made it difficult for the keeper to see.

Balotelli's potential ability has never been in question but it seems that at Nice the stage is set for him to finally achieve it.