“Liverpool” captain Steven Gerrard revealed that in yesterday's UEFA Europa League round of 16 match against “Besiktas” in front of Istanbul, Mario Balotelli violated team rules by taking the penalty kick from 11 meters instead of Jordan Henderson. To the joy of the England club fans, Balotelli's shot from the penalty spot was accurate.
However, Gerrard insists that the established rules stated that Henderson should have taken the penalty kick yesterday, not the Italian, so Balotelli disappointed the captain with his behavior.
“Henderson should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario was a little disobedient,” Gerrard told ITV.
Despite everything, the goalkeeper who will move to Los Angeles’ “Galaxy” after the season was delighted that Balotelli managed to score.
“We have to thank Mario, he scored a goal, but it's not pleasant to see arguing footballers.”
“I think Jordan handled this situation very well. He saw that Mario really wanted to score. Jordan stepped back at the right moment and performed well in the interview after the match.”
“Jordan is the captain and Mario showed a little disrespect, but he scored a very important goal. In my opinion, six or seven players would have wanted to step up to the 11-meter mark at that moment, but if they all had gone there, what would have happened then? Rules exist for understandable reasons.”
“Liverpool” defeated their opponents yesterday with a score of 1-0 and will travel to Turkey with a minimal advantage.
