It was Balotelli's first game for the 'Azzurri' in four years, and he had found the back of the net within 21 minutes of the game starting. Mancini, who has always enjoyed a close relationship with the player, was pleased with his level of play.
"For his first game back, Mario was good enough. I would say it was a positive display, above and beyond the goal," Mancini said to 'La Gazzetta dello Sport'.
"Getting back to winning is important and we did well in the first 45 minutes.
"The performance will probably be better against a stronger team.
"We have to learn how to keep it up across the 90 minutes but we did manage to get several shots off and play quickly.
"(Saudi Arabia) are far behind us in the rankings but the players mostly come from two clubs so they are well united. They are also preparing for a World Cup.
"I can't make any deeper assessments as my players are at the end of their campaigns and have been through a lot this year."