Brendan Rodgers said yesterday that he would conquer Mario Balotelli’s more unpredictable instincts by giving him responsibility – starting with the job of picking up an opponent to mark at defensive corners for the first time in his life.

The Liverpool manager was incredulous that Balotelli had never before been asked to mark at defensive corners before this week. He said that in preparation for set pieces, he had insisted that the Italian did so and believed that by giving more responsibility to Balotelli, the player would respond.

Rodgers said: “Mario’s a good guy, a good man. If you take away the circus that surrounds him, and the circus he invites himself sometimes, and control the background noise and get him focused on his football, he’s a good fella.

“He’ll make mistakes, but I think you saw him get his reward for a real good week’s work with the team. He was fully focused on football: working, pressing, disappointed not to score, but you can see he’ll be a handful for defenders.

“He is now at an age where he has got to show maturity. I am giving him responsibility. For the first time in his life, he marked at a corner. Serious! An international player who has won three titles in Italy, cups, the Champions League.

“We were doing corners [in training] and I said to him, ‘I’m putting you on [a man] at [defensive] corners. He said: ‘I don’t mark at corners.’ I said: ‘You do now!’ He went in and he had a great header from a corner. Treat him like an adult with responsibility.” Balotelli played for an hour and had two chances in the first half of his debut.

Tottenham v Liverpool - player ratings 27 show all Tottenham v Liverpool - player ratings 1/27 Hugo Lloris: 5 Dreadful kicking put his team under pressure on a number of occasions, and not as composed as usual. Getty 2/27 Eric Dier: 4 Struggled against Liverpool’s pacy forwards, and clumsy foul on Joe Allen gifted Liverpool a soft penalty . Getty 3/27 Younes Kaboul: 5 Lacked the mobility to stay with Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge, and looked vulnerable all game. Getty 4/27 Jan Vertonghen: 5 Mostly solid, but unable to prevent Liverpool creating chances almost at will. GETTY 5/27 Danny Rose: 5 Struggled to create anything when he got into advanced positions, and caught out down his side for Sterling’s goal. GETTY 6/27 Nabil Bentaleb: 5 Didn’t provide enough protection to his back four, as Sterling and Jordan Henderson flooded forward. GETTY 7/27 Etienne Capoue: 5 Like Benatleb, looked second best against the Liverpool midfielders, and not incisive enough with his passing. Getty 8/27 Nacer Chadli: 5 Should have scored at the end of the first half, and gave the ball away too often. GETTY 9/27 Christian Eriksen : 5 Some nice touches, but no real end product, and a peripheral figure before being taken off after an hour. 10/27 Erik Lamela: 4 Next to nothing went right for the Argentine, who misplaced countless passes and offered no penetration. Getty 11/27 Emmanuel Adebayor: 5 Missed excellent chance to equalise early on, and ran down too many blind alleys when team-mates were well placed for a pass. Getty 12/27 Andros Townsend: 4 Dispossessed by Moreno with his very first touch, who then went and scored. It was a nightmare first touch for Townsend and he didn’t improve much thereafter. LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Andros Townsend of Spurs on the ball during the UEFA Europa League Qualifying Play-Offs Round Second Leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and AEL Limassol FC on August 28, 2014 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jamie McDonal 13/27 Mousa Dembele: 5 Tried to make things happen but couldn't make telling contribution. GETTY 14/27 Ben Davies: 5 Solid for the 15 minutes he was on the pitch. GETTY 15/27 Simon Mignolet: 5 Made decent save to deny Chadli in the first half, but was a spectator for most of the match. GETTY 16/27 Javier Manquillo: 6 Did well against both Chadli and Lamela, and never looked like getting beaten when they or Rose took him on. Booked in the first-half. GETTY 17/27 Dejan Lovren: 6 Very solid display – won more than his fair share of headers and made some important recovery tackles when Spurs got in behind. GETTY 18/27 Mamadou Sakho: 6 Gave the ball away in dangerous areas a couple of times but put in some strong tackles. GETTY 19/27 Alberto Moreno: 8 Very impressive performance – good on the ball, tenacious in the tackle, and capped things off with a wonderful solo goal. GETTY 20/27 Jordan Henderson: 6 Kept things ticking over in the Liverpool engine room, and set up Sterling’s goal with a pinpoint cross. GETTY 21/27 Steven Gerrard: 7 Tidy in possession, good delivery from set-pieces, and buried a typically nerveless penalty. GETTY 22/27 Joe Allen: 6 Pressed the Spurs midfielders effectively, and won the penalty for the crucial second goal. Booked in the first-half, and taken off with half an hour to play. GETTY 23/27 Raheem Sterling: 8 Superb – took his goal well, and ran the show with his dribbling and direct passing in what was essentially a free role. GETTY 24/27 Mario Balotelli: 6 Missed three decent chances but linked up well with his team-mates, and showed good effort levels before making way after an hour. GETTY 25/27 Daniel Sturridge: 6 Over-elaborated a couple of times, and shooting was a little wayward, but held the ball up well and brought others into the play. GETTY 26/27 Emre Can: 6 Came on for the last 30 minutes, and went on a few driving runs. GETTY 27/27 Lazar Markovic: 5 Brought on with Can, but couldn’t get into the game. GETTY 1/27 Hugo Lloris: 5 Dreadful kicking put his team under pressure on a number of occasions, and not as composed as usual. Getty 2/27 Eric Dier: 4 Struggled against Liverpool’s pacy forwards, and clumsy foul on Joe Allen gifted Liverpool a soft penalty . Getty 3/27 Younes Kaboul: 5 Lacked the mobility to stay with Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge, and looked vulnerable all game. Getty 4/27 Jan Vertonghen: 5 Mostly solid, but unable to prevent Liverpool creating chances almost at will. GETTY 5/27 Danny Rose: 5 Struggled to create anything when he got into advanced positions, and caught out down his side for Sterling’s goal. GETTY 6/27 Nabil Bentaleb: 5 Didn’t provide enough protection to his back four, as Sterling and Jordan Henderson flooded forward. GETTY 7/27 Etienne Capoue: 5 Like Benatleb, looked second best against the Liverpool midfielders, and not incisive enough with his passing. Getty 8/27 Nacer Chadli: 5 Should have scored at the end of the first half, and gave the ball away too often. GETTY 9/27 Christian Eriksen : 5 Some nice touches, but no real end product, and a peripheral figure before being taken off after an hour. 10/27 Erik Lamela: 4 Next to nothing went right for the Argentine, who misplaced countless passes and offered no penetration. Getty 11/27 Emmanuel Adebayor: 5 Missed excellent chance to equalise early on, and ran down too many blind alleys when team-mates were well placed for a pass. Getty 12/27 Andros Townsend: 4 Dispossessed by Moreno with his very first touch, who then went and scored. It was a nightmare first touch for Townsend and he didn’t improve much thereafter. LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Andros Townsend of Spurs on the ball during the UEFA Europa League Qualifying Play-Offs Round Second Leg match between Tottenham Hotspur and AEL Limassol FC on August 28, 2014 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jamie McDonal 13/27 Mousa Dembele: 5 Tried to make things happen but couldn't make telling contribution. GETTY 14/27 Ben Davies: 5 Solid for the 15 minutes he was on the pitch. GETTY 15/27 Simon Mignolet: 5 Made decent save to deny Chadli in the first half, but was a spectator for most of the match. GETTY 16/27 Javier Manquillo: 6 Did well against both Chadli and Lamela, and never looked like getting beaten when they or Rose took him on. Booked in the first-half. GETTY 17/27 Dejan Lovren: 6 Very solid display – won more than his fair share of headers and made some important recovery tackles when Spurs got in behind. GETTY 18/27 Mamadou Sakho: 6 Gave the ball away in dangerous areas a couple of times but put in some strong tackles. GETTY 19/27 Alberto Moreno: 8 Very impressive performance – good on the ball, tenacious in the tackle, and capped things off with a wonderful solo goal. GETTY 20/27 Jordan Henderson: 6 Kept things ticking over in the Liverpool engine room, and set up Sterling’s goal with a pinpoint cross. GETTY 21/27 Steven Gerrard: 7 Tidy in possession, good delivery from set-pieces, and buried a typically nerveless penalty. GETTY 22/27 Joe Allen: 6 Pressed the Spurs midfielders effectively, and won the penalty for the crucial second goal. Booked in the first-half, and taken off with half an hour to play. GETTY 23/27 Raheem Sterling: 8 Superb – took his goal well, and ran the show with his dribbling and direct passing in what was essentially a free role. GETTY 24/27 Mario Balotelli: 6 Missed three decent chances but linked up well with his team-mates, and showed good effort levels before making way after an hour. GETTY 25/27 Daniel Sturridge: 6 Over-elaborated a couple of times, and shooting was a little wayward, but held the ball up well and brought others into the play. GETTY 26/27 Emre Can: 6 Came on for the last 30 minutes, and went on a few driving runs. GETTY 27/27 Lazar Markovic: 5 Brought on with Can, but couldn’t get into the game. GETTY

Rodgers said that before the game Balotelli had enquired as to whether he could take penalties. “He [Balotelli] has got a great record,” Rodgers said. “He asked me who was on the penalties. He’s scored 26 and only missed one. So he had every right to be asking. But Steven Gerrard is the penalty taker I nominated when I came in. So there will be no argument. Stevie showed great composure again.”

The Spurs manager, Mauricio Pochettino, was upset with referee Phil Dowd’s decision to award Liverpool a penalty for a tug by Eric Dier on Joe Allen. He added: “I’m disappointed with the result. We had key moments in the game. In the beginning it’s true we conceded the first goal, but we competed well in that first half. We had the one on one, too. Then a very soft penalty, at a key moment in the game. And at 2-0 down we tried, but we were unlucky. I’m disappointed.

“From the dugout it [the penalty] is difficult to see, but it’s true I want to see this again. From my point of view, it was pretty soft.

“We are a team who are still improving, still learning. We were up against a very good team who almost won the Premier League last season and have built the team for more than two years. But that’s no excuse. This was unlucky, maybe, but in the key moments of the game we lost it.”