After surprisingly being dumped out of the Champions League, in which many had expected Liverpool to finish second behind Real Madrid, Brendan Rodgers' men now have to pin their hopes on a continental title whilst trying their luck in the Europa League.
Despite being known as Europe's "second-tier" competition, the Reds did not have it easy against Besiktas, with the Turkish outfit making things tough for the hosts at Anfield.
The match was eventually settled in the 84th minute when often-maligned striker Mario Balotelli converted a spot-kick, thus sealing the first leg for the home team.
However, despite scoring the match-winning goal, not everyone was so impressed with the enigmatic 24-year-old, who has struggled to find his footing in his second spell in England.
"Jordan should have taken the penalty. Rules are rules. It should have been Henderson. Mario has been a bit mischievous," he opined whilst making an appearance on a TV show, in reference to his taking the penalty away from captain for the night Jordan Henderson.
"Credit to Mario [for] scoring, but it's not nice to see when footballers are arguing. Jordan [was] the captain and Mario showed him a bit of disrespect there...Rules are in place for a reason."
The result gives Liverpool a slim advantage prior to heading to Turkey as they seek to move onto the round of 16 and one step closer to clinching the big prize.
