Europa League on Thursday thanks to a
late Mario Balotelli penalty.
Mario Balotelli came off the bench to
score a late penalty and earn Liverpool a
1-0 win over Besiktas in the first leg of
their UEFA Europa League last-32 tie.
Brendan Rodgers' men dropped into
the competition after failing to make it
out of the UEFA Champions League group
stage, having only managed one victory in
the campaign.
It looked as though Liverpool's
underwhelming fortunes in Europe would
continue at Anfield on Thursday, despite
dominating possession for the most part.
Demba Ba was thwarted by Simon
Mignolet having been sent clean through
for Besiktas' best chance in the first half,
before Alberto Moreno saw an effort
tipped over by goalkeeper Cenk Gonen.
Chances were few and far between for
both sides in the second half, despite the
addition of Balotelli to Liverpool's
frontline, but the Italy international was
on hand to convert from the spot
five minutes from time after Jordon Ibe
had been felled by Ramon.
Steven Gerrard was sidelined with a
hamstring injury, ruling him out of a
reunion with Besiktas frontman Ba, who –
then with Chelsea – pounced on a now-
infamous slip by the Liverpool captain to
contribute to the downfall of the Anfield
club's Premier League title challenge last
season.
Nevertheless, it was the hosts who made
the early running, and Daniel Sturridge
drew a save from goalkeeper Gonen with
a close-range strike in the opening four
minutes after some trickery in the
Besiktas box.
An intruder on the pitch caused a
momentary delay before the visitors' first
chance fell the way of midfielder Veli
Kavlak, but his shot was dragged wide of
the left-hand post.
Kavlak came close once again shortly after
the half-hour mark when he headed wide
from a corner, and Mignolet had to get
down well to keep out an effort from Ba
after the Senegalese had been sent clean
through on goal – the goalkeeper
demonstrating what he should have done
against Chelsea back in April.
And so it was Besiktas who enjoyed the
better goalscoring opportunities in a first
half that saw Liverpool have the majority
of the ball, although Sturridge curled over
a free-kick and Moreno forced Gonen to
tip over with a stunning 30-yard strike.
Jordan Henderson pulled wide from
another set-piece with Gonen flat-footed
before the interval, and Liverpool started
the second half on the front foot, but
Adam Lallana scooped a glorious chance
to break the deadlock over the crossbar
following a mix-up between the keeper
and Pedro Franco.
Manager Rodgers brought on Balotelli to
give his side a greater attacking presence
with just over an hour on the clock and
the Italian was almost instantly involved,
curling a free-kick into the arms of Gonen.
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