Perhaps Henderson should have just given him the ball against Besiktas.
With all the controversy over who should have taken the penalty against Besiktas last week, you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Mario Balotelli actually dispatched the spot-kick with aplomb.
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And perhaps there should never have been a debate over the issue with statistics revealed by Spanish newspaper AS showing that Balotelli is the best active penalty taker in Europe for those who have taken over 30 spot-kicks.
The Italian tops the lot. See the other big-name stars Balo comfortably beats in our top 5 rundown:
(Rickie Lambert would be in the list too- but it only counts goals scored in top-flight & European football!)
5) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) – 87% scored, 78/90
Ronaldo has impressively scored ten penalties so far this season and ten in in the last campaign – but he’s missed 12 times in total throughout a dazzling career.
4) Giuseppe Rossi (Fiorentina) – 87% scored, 34/39
Unfortunately for Rossi he’s been out for an incredible period of time since moving back to Serie A with Fiorentina, and hasn’t been able to extend his impressive record from the spot.
3) Arturo Vidal (Juventus) – 87% scored, 27/31
The midfielder continuously linked with a switch to Manchester United may have a great record in his career but has only been able to score two penalties so far this season.
2) Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain) – 87% scored, 54/62
Ibra has always been great with a dead ball and has continued a great run of penalties into this season with four strikes so far from the spot.
1) Mario Balotelli (Liverpool) – 93%, 28/30
His strike against Besiktas cemented his place as one of the best players from the spot on the continent but that was his only spot kick so far this season with poor form and Steven Gerrard preventing him from extending his lead.