Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has slammed Mario Balotelli's work rate, after the Italian scored the penalty against Besiktas on Thursday night.

Balotelli scored the decisive spot kick in the Europa League game but Rodgers has made it clear that the striker must work harder.

"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.," Rodgers said, according to Goal.com.

"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."

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes that it was the right decision for Balotelli to take the penalty, despite Steven Gerrard describing it as 'disrespectful' for taking it off of Jordan Henderson.