Liverpool striker Mario Balotelli has thanked teammate Jordan Henderson for allowing him to take the penalty that earned his side a 1-0 win against Besiktas in the Europa League.

The pair were involved in a spat over who would take the kick during the game, but the Italian has since taken to Instagram to express his gratitude to his skipper.

"Thank you hendo for let me take the penalty.. Stop drama now. We won that's what it count. We are a team and expecially we are Liverpool. Come on guys," he wrote.

Balotelli's penalty gives Liverpool a slender advantage ahead of the second leg of the last-32 tie, but the forward's actions attracted criticism from Steven Gerrard, who missed the game through injury.

"Jordan should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario has been a bit mischievous. Credit to Mario, he's scored, but it's not nice to see when footballers are arguing," he told ITV Sport.

"I think Jordan has handled the situation very well. He can see that Mario really wanted to score. Jordan walked away at the right moment and handled his post match interview very well.

"Jordan is the captain and Mario showed Jordan a bit of disrespect there, but he's scored a very important goal. I think six or seven players would have wanted to take that penalty so if they all say they are taking it, what happens then?! Rules are in place for a reason."

The second leg will take place in Istanbul next Thursday.