And on that bombshell, it is time for me to bring this live text commentary to a close.

Europa League boring? Nahhh.

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How can he not take a penalty when he is on the pitch?

Abhishek:, external Hendo was assigned as penalty taker because Balo didn't start. But obviously Balo is better penalty taker. Studge made a scene

Jamie:, external Give Balotelli credit, young and in another country and takes the ball off over-rated over hyped English players. Believe.

lomekian:, external Balotelli is one of the best penalty takers in the world...putting Henderson ahead of him under any circumstances is idiotic.

More from Steven Gerrard talking on ITV: "Credit to Mario, he's scored, but it's not nice to see when footballers are arguing. 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."

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, speaking to ITV: "Jordan should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario has been a bit mischievous."

When your captain says that, you know you are going to be in bother.

Interesting stuff from Steven Gerrard as well in the ITV studio, says he felt Jordan Henderson should have taken the penalty and did not seem best pleased with Mario Balotelli's actions. More from Gerrard shortly.

Very diplomatic from Jordan there, but it was pretty clear he was not happy with having the ball taken from him.

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson, speaking to ITV: "It was a big goal, I thought we kept the ball well at times and we deservedly got the goal at the end. It was a big goal for us and especially keeping the clean sheet.

"I wanted the penalty, Mario felt confident and he has taken big penalties before. Everyone wants to take them. I felt confident in Mario, he has taken big penalties before and he got the nod."

Holders Sevilla take a slender lead into their second leg tie against Borussia Monchengladbach thanks to a Vicente Iborra goal that gave the Spaniards a 1-0 win.

Guingamp come back from 1-0 down to win 2-1 at home against nine-man Dynamo Kiev, with Claudio Beauvue and Mustapha Diallo giving the French side the advantage heading into the second leg while Ajax beat Legia Warsaw 1-0 after Arkadiusz Milik's first-half effort.

Villarreal defeated Salzburg thanks to efforts from Ikechukwu Uche and Denis Cheryshev either side of a Jonathan Soriano penalty while Anderlecht and Dynamo Moscow play out a goalless draw in Belgium.

Bradley Allen
Tottenham academy coach on BBC Radio London

"The intensity they will need to put into the return leg to win it will be high. But with the League Cup final only three days later, will Pochettino risk the big players like Kane and Eriksen. But some of Spurs' best performances this season have come away from home, so they won't be phased by this. But God forbid, any of the players get injured and miss the final."

Luke Davy:, external Why would you not start with Sterling or Kane? Not as if the opposition is weak?

Ash:, external Ever since that moustache appeared on super Mario, he's starting to look good, working hard and linking up.

CFC Warrior:, external He demanded it. He took it. He scored. Leadership. That's Mario.

Jordan Henderson takes it, but hits the wall. That's the last action of the game.

Raheem Sterling's tricky feet win Liverpool a free-kick on the edge of the area, a good chance for a second...

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What drama! Celtic snatch a late, late equaliser through John Guidetti, who chests the ball down before firing in. Could there be more late drama?

All over at White Hart Lane and not a great result for Tottenham, Fiorentina have the advantage with the away goal.

There will also be three added minutes at Liverpool and the hosts are a little nervy as Besiktas come forward, searching for an equaliser.

Image source, Reuters

Into three minutes of injury time in London. Can Tottenham find a second?

Liverpool have the lead, but could Mario Balotelli's decision to take the ball off Jordan Henderson cause a bit of friction? Henderson was not happy at all, signalling at the bench before Balotelli scored. Henderson tapped Balotelli on the shoulder in the celebration, but looked a little half-hearted.

Image source, Getty Images

Nice. Very nice. Taking the ball off Jordan Henderson was a big call by Mario Balotelli. He has to score now and he steps up, pauses slightly, but fires the ball into the net.

Image source, Getty Images