In Liverpool's 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur last night, Mario Balotelli finally scored his first league goal for Brendan Rodgers's side, over five months after completing his move to Anfield.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at some other players who took a while to make their mark at a new club.

1. Peter Crouch - Liverpool

Balotelli is not the only player to have needed time to get off the mark at Liverpool, as now-Stoke City striker Peter Crouch required several months to find the back of the net after joining the club in 2005.

The England international finally opened his account in his 12th Premier League appearance for Rafael Benitez, but he did it in style, netting a brace in a 3-0 win over Wigan.

He did need a bit of luck with the first though, as it took a huge looping deflection of a Wigan defender, and was initially given as an own goal before Crouch was awarded it.

The brace helped Crouch turn around his first season with Liverpool, as he finished with 13 goals in all competitions.

2. Frank Lampard - Chelsea

Long before Frank Lampard was Chelsea's record goalscorer, the midfielder was struggling in front of goal after completing a move from West Ham United for £11m.

While Lampard went on to score 147 Premier League goals for Chelsea before leaving Stamford Bridge last summer, there was little sign of his goal-scoring prowess in the early days, as he was sent off in his fourth league appearance. His only goal in his first four months at the club came in a UEFA Cup tie.

However, Lampard finally got off the mark in the league with an early Christmas present in the team's 5-1 thrashing of Bolton Wanderers on December 23 2001.

Lampard finished his debut season with seven goals in all competitions from a mighty 54 appearances.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo - Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo won his first of three Ballon d'Or awards to date during his six-year stint with Manchester United, but it took the then 17-year-old Portuguese winger a little time to fill the club's number seven shirt after signing for the Premier League side in August 2003.

Ronaldo was soon a regular on Sir Alex Ferguson's teamsheet, making his debut just four days after completing his move, but it took him until November to open his account.

Ronaldo scored his first of just six goals for United in his debut season with the club during a 3-0 win over Portsmouth, blasting a low free kick in from out wide, yet it took him until March to add a second in the league.

Before his 2009 move to Real Madrid, Ronaldo went on to score 84 league goals in 157 appearances for the Old Trafford side.

4. Andy Carroll - West Ham United

Andy Carroll has struggled with a string of injuries since completing his move from Liverpool to West Ham United in 2013, but it was in his loan spell at Upton Park the season before where the England international scored his first goal for the club.

The striker, who remains the most expensive English footballer following his £35m move to Anfield in 2011, failed to find the target in his first eight appearances for the club.

However, he finally bagged his first goal in November 2012 when he scored the only goal in the team's 3-1 defeat to Tottenham from the penalty spot.

His second goal proved more vital though, as he netted the only goal in their 1-0 win over Swansea City in February 2013 following a spell out with an injury.

5. Ki Sung-yueng - Swansea City

South Korean international Ki Sung-yueng has been in impressive form in recent weeks, netting three times in his last eight league matches for Swansea City.

Having joined the South Wales side back in 2012, it is something of a surprise that it took him until the start of the current campaign to score his first goal for the club.

While he was on target three times during a loan spell with Sunderland last season, it was not until Swansea's surprise win over Manchester United in the opening match of this season that Ki scored for Garry Monk's side, breaking the deadlock in the 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Ki penned a new contract just a couple of weeks after that goal that will keep him at Swansea until 2018.