Rodgers to deal with Balotelli Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has vowed to deal with Mario Balotelli after the striker swapped shirts with a Real Madrid player at half-time during their Champions League defeat at Anfield. Balotelli was seen making the exchange with Madrid defender Pepe as the pair headed down the tunnel, after Real had raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo and two goals from Karim Benzema. Italy international Balotelli was replaced at the interval by Adam Lallana and, after being made aware of the footage by the media, Rodgers warned he would take action. Thats the first Ive heard about it and I wouldnt like it, Rodgers told Sky Sports. Its something that doesnt happen here, it shouldnt happen here. We had a case of a player doing that last season, which I dealt with, and if thats the case again then Ill deal with it again. Balotelli, who was expected to be dropped, made a suprise start but continued his indifferent form and did not emerge from the tunnel for the second half. Rodgers insists the change was purely tactical but Balotelli remains on just the single one goal he has scored since joining from AC Milan in the summer. And the Reds boss bemoaned yet more defensive errors, which have left them in a difficult situation in Group B ahead of away ties at Real Madrid and Ludogorets. I felt we needed a bit more intensity and I thought Adam Lallana came on and did very well, Rodgers said. We made an excellent start for the first 20 minutes but after they got that first goal, they showed their quality. We defended poorly on one or two of the goals but I cant ask for any more - we probably needed to get a goal in that opening period. In the second half we were playing for pride, the players kept going, they didnt stop - they were playing against a top-quality team. Well look at it and learn but we were punished by a top-class side.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 08:32:35 +0000
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