Later in the tournament, on 18 June 2012, Mario Balotelli scored his first goal in a major international tournament in a 2–0 victory against the Republic of Ireland. When he attempted to celebrate this goal, he was immediately halted by teammate Leonardo Bonucci, who covered Balotelli's mouth with his hand for fear that the striker would say something to "get in trouble". Balotelli had been dropped to the bench by Cesare Prandelli prior to the match due to his lack of ability shown in his previous group matches, so when he was substituted on against Ireland, fans did not expect him to have much of an impact and his celebration of his goal may have originally been directed towards the naysayers who believe he is bad for the team. Balotelli went on to start against England in the quarter-finals. His performance was described as "wasteful", but his effort was rated highly in a match where he missed multiple chances. He scored the first penalty taken in the shootout against his Manchester City teammate Joe Hart. On 28 June, Balotelli scored twice within the first 40 minutes in Italy's semi-final clash with Germany, as the "Azzurri" won 2–1 and progressed to the Euro 2012 final against European and world champions Spain. After scoring the second goal in that semi-final, he ripped off his shirt and stood motionless as he flexed his muscles, developing a famous celebration. Going into the final, Balotelli said Manchester City's title success meant failure in the Euro would not signal a personal failure this season. He also said he was unfazed by the pressure he supposedly had on his shoulders entering the final, with new high expectations of him from his home supporters after his amazing performance against Germany.