Mario Balotelli on the spot to give Liverpool narrow lead

Liverpool 1 Besiktas 0: Substitute Mario Balotelli continued his penchant for late interventions with an 85th-minute penalty to give Liverpool a slender advantage to take to Istanbul in the last 32 of the Europa League.

Nine days ago he came off the bench at Anfield to score a crucial winner against Tottenham and did the same against Besiktas, this time at the Kop end after taking the ball away from team-mates Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge to take the spot-kick. His goal makes the trip to Turkey next week less uncomfortable than it was looking, although the tie is far from over and they were defeated on their last visit there in the Champions League in 2007.

Yet Besiktas almost took a first-half lead, with Vasil Kevlak heading narrowly over from Jose Sosa’s corner before Simon Mignolet threw himself low to his left to deny Demba Ba after he out-paced Martin Skrtel on the counter-attack.

The incident had shades of last April when Ba, then playing for Chelsea, capitalised on Steven Gerrard’s slip to spell the beginning of the end of Liverpool’s title hopes.

In the last five minutes of the half, Sturridge and Henderson were just off target with free-kicks either side of a thunderous 40-yard drive from Alberto Moreno which Gonen tipped over.

The Besiktas goalkeeper’s fumble of Henderson’s cross early in the second half saw Adam Lallana blaze over an open goal from close range, although Can’s wayward backpass to Ba almost matched that in the error stakes and he was only saved by Skrtel’s recovery.

A double change saw Balotelli and Dejan Lovren replace Philippe Coutinho and Joe Allen in the 63rd minute as Liverpool went to two up front and Balotelli’s first act was to drill a free-kick straight at Gonen.

With time ticking down it was looking like another frustrating night until five minutes from time Ramon Motta tripped Jordan Ibe and Balotelli did the business again, despite Sturridge and Henderson wanting to take the ball off him.

LIVERPOOL: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Sakho, Ibe, Henderson, Allen (Lovren 63), Moreno, Lallana (Sterling 77), Sturridge, Coutinho (Balotelli 63).

BESIKTAS: Gonen, Kurtulus, Franco, Gulum, Ramon, Hutchinson, Kavlak, Tore, Sosa (Ozyakup 60), Sahan (Frei 71), Ba.

Referee: Szymon Marciniak (Poland).