Image source, Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph runs with the news that skipper Steven Gerrard voiced his criticism of Mario Balotelli after the Italian striker defied orders and took the crucial penalty that earned Liverpool a late win against Besiktas in the Europa League.

Inside, former QPR manager Harry Redknapp has denied saying in a radio interview that if England did not win Euro 2016 then "we might as well all give up".

Now let's have a look at the stories that have made the back pages of today's national newspapers.

Image source, Daily Star

Mario Balotelli finds himself in a "spot of bother" in the Daily Star. He grabbed the ball from team-mate Jordan Henderson to take an 84th minute penalty but his cheek paid off when he scored the only goal of the game.

QPR defender Rio Ferdinand also calls on football authorities to tackle racism after the incident on the Paris Metro on Wednesday.

Stoke manager Mark Hughes knows his side need to recover from last weekend's 4-1 defeat by Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup.

"I had them in on Monday and we had a chat," says Hughes. "On occasions you carry one or two players, that is expected, but when you have to carry more than that, as was the case last weekend, then these results can happen.

"Thankfully, it has happened very infrequently during my time here, and credit to the lads to that because they have been fantastic for me and my staff.

"We analysed what went wrong in depth, and will look to move on from it now. We have drawn a line under it. It was nowhere near the levels that we have come to expect from ourselves. We will bounce back from it though."

Image source, Getty Images

England's Charley Hull is in fourth place on four under at the halfway stage of the women's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.

Newly crowned world number one Lydia Ko of New Zealand shot a second straight three-under par 70 for a share of the lead on six under alongside fellow teenager Ariya Jutanugarn from Thailand and South Korea's Jang Ha-na.

Among the other Britons in action, Melissa Reid is on one under with Holly Clyburn and Catriona Matthew on two over.

Image source, Reuters

Stoke manager Mark Hughes says he is wary of taking on a new-look Aston Villa on Saturday with Tim Sherwood in charge for the first time.

"Inevitably there will be a new manager bounce," he admits.

"It's a case of players wanting to impress. There's a little edge and an increase in work rate and focus. We'll be prepared for that. We have to be. They had a good win last weekend which will have lifted them too.

"Tim Sherwood comes across as a very positive guy and he will have been working on their positive thinking, but we've been doing OK. We've had a couple of poor results but prior to that we were doing OK."

Mark Ramprakash
England batting coach

Image source, Getty Images

"Got to apologise to the fans regarding the game/result. At 103 for three didn't see the mayhem to come. No one to blame but ourselves - will do better!"

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport chief F1 writer

"Things are hotting up a bit now in Barcelona at the F1 test as drivers finally begin to get going after slow-speed data assessment runs. Although McLaren know their running is limited because of a fragile engine, and have said they are focusing on non-performance homework, the impression continues that the car may well be quick once the Honda engine is a) reliable and b) turned up to full power.

"The Honda is way off on the straights and yet Fernando Alonso at 09:40 GMT was only 0.7 seconds off pace-setter Nico Rosberg's Mercedes. Could it be that for the first time since 2012, McLaren have actually designed a good F1 car?"

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger dismisses media reports that Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla is going to join La Liga champions Atletico Madrid.

"He extended his contract last year," says Wenger. "I don't think there's anything to worry about, we've not been approached."

Geraint Jones
Former England wicketkeeper

Image source, Getty Images

"It would be a good World Cup to win from now. They say you need to hit rock bottom to then start your climb back upwards. So let the climb begin."

More from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, this time talking about Saturday's opponents Crystal Palace and ex-Gunners striker Marouane Chamakh.

"They have found confidence again and have got positive results with their new management," says Wenger. "Chamakh lost confidence at Arsenal. I'm happy he's got a good career at Crystal Palace now."

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport chief F1 writer

"It has been a slow start to Formula 1 pre-season testing on a day that dawned misty in the Valles region north of Barcelona, where the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya grand prix track is situated.

"At 0900 GMT, an hour into the day's running, only four drivers had set lap times, and only two of them were at anything close to racing speed. Williams's Felipe Massa leads the way, followed by Sergio Perez (pictured) in the 2014 Force India, whose new car is not ready yet. Marcus Ericsson of Sauber and Mercedes' Nico Rosberg are the only other two men to do two consecutive laps.

Image source, AFP

"All others have been out, but focusing on either systems checks or, in the case of McLaren and Fernando Alonso, aerodynamic calibration work."

Image source, AP

Hull City manager Steve Bruce says midfielder Mo Diame will miss Saturday's Premier League game against QPR.

Diame, who has yet to play a game in 2015, took a knock to his knee in training on Monday and has not trained since, although scans have come back all clear

"We don't think it will set Mo back too long," said Bruce at his pre-match news conference. "I am hoping he can be back involved in training next week."

Some more of your comments from our match report of the England v New Zealand World Cup debacle.

Berbear: It's getting worse. Poor leadership, poor tactics, complete lack of application. Do they think as they are there it doesn't matter? Let's look at ending the central contracts as we seem to put the kiss of death to anyone that joins the group.

Scutterbob: Different captain but still the same old mess. Cook must be laughing in his cornflakes (other breakfast cereals are available).

Graham A: I am not surprised by the result at all. Very disappointed but not surprised. If you don't pick the 11 best one-day players in your country then they will never compete against countries who do pick their best 11.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on ex-Gunners striker Thierry Henry, who is helping coach some of the younger players.

"Thierry Henry is making his first steps as a coach," says Wenger. "It's good for our youngsters to be coached by him. He's been here once or twice.

Image source, Getty Images

"All our former players are welcome to come back here and get their coaching badges. We're happy to have Thierry."

Image source, Arsenal

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger starts off with the club's injuries. He says midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is back in full training but is not ready to be considered for the game at Crystal Palace. Aaron Ramsey is "10 days away".

Right-back Hector Bellerin will have a fitness test today, but midfielder Jack Wilshere could be back in the squad.

We warned you it was busy. And it is. The first manager to face the media today is Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger.

England all-rounder Luke Wright

Image source, Getty Images

"Love the way Brendon McCullum goes about it! Attack first, putting all bowlers under huge pressure. Always looking for boundaries, not survive.

"I still believe England will get out the group and who knows what can happen on the day in knockout matches.

"England have some serious players and batters that are as dangerous as most. Hope they play with freedom for rest of the competition."

Mark Butcher
Former England captain

Image source, Getty Images

"Everything's fine, heads in the sand, nothing to see here - #evolve.

"I've been saying it for years; we do all our players a disservice by not giving them the toughest, most competitive environment to play in at home."

Who says we don't give you arty pictures in Sportsday? The silhouetted player is, of course, England captain Eoin Morgan.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport chief F1 writer

"McLaren have already warned that they could have problems on Friday, as a result of the failure in the engine they encountered on Thursday.

"The issue was, according to Honda F1 boss Yasuhisa Arai, a faulty seal on the motor generator unit that recovers energy from the rear axle, which then caused a problem that meant the engine needed to be replaced. A fullly redesigned replacement part arrives on Saturday.

"In the meantime, Honda have made changes overnight to effect what they hope will be a temporary fix, enough to allow what Arai said 'should be a productive day of running' on Friday. If it holds together. McLaren said they would use the day to try some 'time-intensive bigger set-up changes in a bid to maximise learning about the car's balance'. So there will be long breaks between Alonso's visits to the track.

Image source, AFP

"Among the interesting features of F1 testing in Barcelona on Friday is British rising star Jolyon Palmer's run in the Lotus. The 24-year-old (pictured) is the son of former grand prix driver Jonathan, won the GP2 feeder championship in 2014 and is Lotus's third driver this year. The path he hopes will take him into a fill-time race seat one day starts here."

As mentioned, the top story of the day so far is England's mauling by New Zealand in the Cricket World Cup.

England captain Eoin Morgan has faced the press and this is what he had to say.

Image source, Reuters

"We don't want to panic and make three or four changes," says Morgan. "That's not what I'm about - just because we were outperformed, it doesn't mean I'll be binning anyone for Scotland on Monday."

"These first two games we knew would be difficult, but there's no way we should be beaten by this amount," said Morgan, who replaced Alastair Cook as captain in December.

"We can still make the quarter-finals, but the sooner we start winning, the better."

There's nothing that makes a humiliation worse than any opposing player rubbing it in. I'm not too sure Morgan would have appreciated the hand on the shoulder and laughter from New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum.