Balotelli needs to increase his work rate, says Rodgers

Mario Balotelli is, as usual, the center of attention at Liverpool.

The mercurial Italian made headlines with his decision to overrule acting captain Jordan Henderson by taking (and scoring) a penalty in Thursday's 1-0 Europa League win over Besiktas - a move that was, ridiculously, deemed disrespectful by Steven Gerrard.

Related: Gerrard takes swipe at Balotelli over penalty row

That Balotelli is the designated penalty taker when Gerrard isn't on the pitch has been largely overlooked - often by the same people who disregard Balotelli's remarkable record from the spot in his career, during which he's converted 27 of 29 penalties.

In a refreshing change, manager Brendan Rodgers backed the summer signing, confirming he was correct to assume the spot-kick duties.

But, in an all-too-familiar scene, the Reds bench boss followed up that vote of confidence by criticizing the 24-year-old's work rate.

"No, not really no," Rodgers told reporters when asked if was pleased with the striker's overall contribution against Besiktas. He continued:

We need to ensure that whatever level of the game we are playing at we have everyone working as a team and once we got the penalty he stops working.

So he needs to improve on that facet of his game to play in his position, rather than standing on the side of the football field.

He has contributed against Besiktas, he has got the penalty and scored the goal, but that is what he is paid to do. He needs to keep that efficiency in his game and show that he can affect the team whether he is asked to play from the bench or from the start.

In a different country and a different style of football that (goal) would be all that matters but in this team there is more to it than that.

Balotelli's next opportunity to do something positive and be criticized for it comes Sunday, when Liverpool visit Southampton in a crucial contest that could have significant implications for the Champions League race.