Joey Barton has claimed that the controversial Liverpool striker was right to take last night’s penalty
Mario Balotelli has received plenty of criticism for his insistence on taking Liverpool’s penalty during Thursday night’s Europa League victory against Besiktas, but he has found support from an unlikely source.
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(Video) Steven Gerrard SLAMS Mario Balotelli for Liverpool penalty behaviour
Mario Balotelli vents on Instagram about Liverpool penalty drama
The Italian striker appeared to ignore the protests of both captain for the game, Jordan Henderson, and strike partner Daniel Sturridge, before converting the spot-kick which decided the first leg.
Following the game, Balotelli was criticised for his actions, but QPR midfielder Joey Barton has taken to Twitter to defend the Reds’ £16m man.
The Rs star then surprisingly launched a scathing attack on Henderson, firstly suggesting that he should never have been in contention to take the penalty and that he could never replace Gerrard at Liverpool.