But his blushes were spared after Yachir - who latched onto the ball inside the area - somehow missed the target from eight yards out. He immediately looked to the ground before raising his arms to apologise to his team-mates.
They finished last with the team in second-last position, Azerbaijan having six more points than them. How come a team that finished last and conceded 22 times over eight games has another shot at qualification?
The club confirmed the development on Monday, June 15 as reports have it that Nantes paid 5 million euros ($5.6million) for the 24-year-old forward to seal a permanent deal.
"I think we've shown against Paris St-Germain that on any given day we can beat a top team," explained United interim manager Solskjaer. "Any team can beat anyone of the eight. There's still top, top quality.
Nigeria are top of Group L with eight points and a victory either against the Republic of Benin or Lesotho will seal their place at the AFCON tournament in Cameroon.
Balotelli was part of the team that won the treble in 2009-10, featuring 40 times across all competitions. Balotelli featured eight times in the Champions League, albeit with only two starts in Europe's premier club competition.
Eight teams are set to battle it out in the quarterfinals, and betting fans can obtain the Betwinner promo code to bet on any of the remaining matches of the tournament.
She has said this will be her last World Cup, and it's the final chance to seal her legacy on the international stage having never won a major trophy with Brazil.